Hauliers bypass Irish Ferries row on chartered ship

THE standoff at Irish Ferries intensified further yesterday as hauliers began to bypass the dispute, finding other ways to shift crucial Christmas cargoes.

With some crew members still barricaded inside the Isle of Inishmore in Pembroke, SIPTU port workers in Dublin voted yesterday in favour of strike action should Irish Ferries attempt to sail any of its ships, including the MV Normandy, into the harbour.

The move rules out a repeat of this week’s Normandy sailing which SIPTU allowed dock in Dublin after turning it away from Cork.

Although a crew change did occur yesterday on the Ulysses in Holyhead, the vessel remains stranded by industrial action as does the Jonathan Swift in Dublin.

Exasperated exporters, meanwhile, are to circumvent the dispute through the intervention of Carlow shipping agent Victor Treacy International, which has chartered a ship from Brittany Ferries to sail from France to Cork tomorrow.

Unions are not expected to object, leaving the way clear for the Barfleur vessel to carry up to 70 container trucks in each direction.

Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Hauliers Association said he had no doubt the ship would be full for the duration of the Irish Ferries strike.

Mr Quinn added that he had little interest in the merits or otherwise of the SIPTU strike and simply wanted to move goods.

Amid speculation that management at Irish Ferries may be following a long-term sell off strategy, the other union at the company - the Seamen’s Union of Ireland (SUI) - expressed concern that redundancy packages on offer may be slashed as a result of the dispute.

The SUI is not on strike but is in dispute with the company over terms and conditions for members who wish to remain.

SUI general secretary Bob Carrick said his members, most of whom have accepted a redundancy deal, were becoming increasingly worried.

However to date the company has made no move to limit the terms of redundancy on offer.

As the dispute nears its second week, behind the scenes efforts at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to come up with a means of getting both sides to engage in purposeful and productive negotiations have not been successful.