LEADING shipping companies regularly operating on the Irish Sea are paying staff members as little as €1.31 an hour.

AN IRISH union inspector got his first full meal in 36 hours yesterday as a dispute between a Russian-crewed ship and its owners moves into a fourth day.

AN Irish trade union inspector and his British colleague feared for their lives and were forced to barricade themselves and the Russian crew of a ship into a section of the vessel after a dispute with the ship’s owners.