Union leaders want ferry protests to go ahead

National protests in support of Irish Ferries workers who are fighting against their replacement by cheaper foreign staff must go ahead, union leaders demanded today as the two sides attended talks to resolve the dispute.

SIPTU negotiators and management have begun intensive talks at the Labour Relations Commission following intervention by the country’s top industrial relations trouble-shooter, the National Implementation Body.

But the President of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Arthur Hall, warned the talks might not succeed.

And he said the planned rally on Friday should go ahead because the issues of exploitation, job displacement and employment standards affected tens of thousands of other workers.

“Every day Dublin trade unionists encounter people, either in the workplace or other walks of life, who are being grossly exploited by unscrupulous employers.

“What is required next Friday is a demonstration of trade union strength that will send a clear message that this type of behaviour is not acceptable in a civilised society,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there are many employers engaged in even worse practices than those proposed on Irish Ferries vessels.

“We are not just talking about employment rights, such as the right to the national minimum wage and statutory holidays, but basic civil liberties, such as the right to privacy, the right to be treated with respect and the right to say ‘no’ when ordered to carry out dangerous and degrading tasks,” he said.

“We do not want to see the emergence of social apartheid in this country, where some people make excessive profits at the expense of vulnerable, migrant workers while the rest of us turn a blind eye because we enjoy job security and decent living standards,” he said.

Mr Hall warned that such a strategy would fly in the face of the trade union movement’s values and would be a betrayal of the country’s future.

The long-running dispute began after the ferry company outlined plans to replace 543 Irish workers with cheaper labour from Eastern Europe.

The row has also left hauliers facing delays of several days at a time as Irish Ferries vessels have been tied up in docks in Wales and Dublin.