Labour launches employment document

The Labour Party will today publish proposals to prevent another Irish Ferries-style industrial relations controversy.

The firm’s four vessels were docked for several weeks last year in a bitter dispute between workers and management over a bid to replace Irish workers with cheaper overseas labour.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte will today launch policy document, A Fair Place to Work and Live: Tackling the Race to the Bottom.

The 8,000-word blueprint will address issues of displacement and call for the enforcement of acceptable standards of employment for Irish and immigrant workers.

The document deals with a range of issues including the proposed EU Services Directive and measures to protect against job displacement including the expansion and strengthening of the Labour Inspectorate.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has remarked that there are more dog wardens in the state than labour inspectors.

The document will also outline proposals for reform of immigration policy from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

The dossier will be launched at in Dublin’s RHA Gallery by Mr Rabbitte with deputy leader Liz McManus and employment spokesman Brendan Howlin.