Union boss: standoff is a defining moment
Calling for a national day of protest next Friday, he said the current dispute would decide whether Irish society was “based on decency and fair play, or on thuggery, exploitation and the law of the jungle.”
“At moments such as this, it is not enough for those who are entrusted with public responsibility to utter comforting words and do nothing else,” he said.
Mr O’Connor said the future of Social Partnership would depend on whether the Government “is prepared to take the necessary measures to address job displacement, exploitation and the protection of employment standards.”
Following a request for support from SIPTU, the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will decide next Tuesday whether to assist in the organisation of next week’s march.
ICTU general secretary David Begg said the actions of Irish Ferries “violated every precept of normal industrial relations conduct” and “could also have put the lives of crew or passengers at risk”.
“To date this company has proved contemptuous of all norms of decency. They have refused to engage with representative and democratic bodies, they have refused advice from the body politic and they have scorned public opinion.
“They cannot be allowed to drag us all to the bottom in the simple pursuit of profit,” he said.
Speaking from Budapest, Hungary, yesterday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also condemned the actions of Irish Ferries management, describing them as anathema to everything he has worked for in the past 20 years.
“This is a retrograde step by them, this is not in line with Irish industrial relations, they are trying to turn back the clock, they should still think about it, about everything that they have done in their handling of this,” he said.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said there was no future for Ireland in “going back to slave wages.”
He said the dispute was provoked “by the Taoiseach walking away and the company sending in an SAS-style unit to the vessel”.
