confirmed for the mo, but would say that EI will do something to intervene in the meantime. they were v keen not to make any big push on pci during august to avoid just this kind of strike action, so they'll do what they can to make it go away.
as for the pilots reasoning, part of it seems to be a pre-emptive strike against the pci moves which will come soon. pilots trying to draw a line in the sand ahead before the real action at dublin starts.
am pretty sure pci itself provided for the staff at different bases to be employed on different terms, so the pilots couldn't have not seen it coming. would imagine it also applies to other crew taking jobs up there or making the move, but so far no-one else seems to be striking or talking about it, unless i've missed something.