Unions may block ports as ferry row drags on

THE tense stand-off at Irish Ferries showed no sign of abating last night despite widespread condemnation of the company’s heavy handed tactics.

With officers barricaded inside the Isle of Inishmore at Pembroke dock and refusing to sail the Ulysses from Holyhead, SIPTU refused to rule out the possibility of port blockades in the coming days.

Both vessels are expected to remain immobile in Wales over the weekend as Irish crew members demand the removal of security personnel who boarded as normal passengers before changing into uniforms in the toilets.

A third vessel, the Jonathan Swift, weather- bound in Dublin, has not been boarded by security guards although union reps are being refused access to the ship.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner from inside the barricaded control room of the Isle of Inishmore last night, marine engineer John Curry told how he had spotted the security men on monitors and believed them to be terrorists.

“I’m not a soldier. I’m not familiar with that sort of stuff. It was almost as if I was watching one of the Godfather movies or something,” he said.

The decision by management to force through its plan to replace Irish workers with cheaper agency workers was strongly condemned by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last night who said the move was anathema to everything he had worked for. “I fundamentally and totally disagree with everything they’ve done,” he said.

However, Mr Ahern was criticised by unions and opposition parties for having already indicated that he saw no further role the Government could play in the dispute.

Labour Enterprise spokesman Brendan Howlin said: “On the one hand he tells us he feels the pain of workers and unions about the loss of jobs, yet on the other says he is powerless to prevent Irish Ferries employing cheaper labour from Eastern Europe.”

SIPTU president Jack O’Connor warned of the consequences for social partnership if the Government failed to protect employees.

He said the issue would decide whether Irish society was “based on decency and fair play, or on thuggery, exploitation and the law of the jungle.”

Mr O’Connor promised an escalating campaign of industrial action but said he still hoped the dispute could be resolved through agreement between both sides.

Following a request from SIPTU, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will hold an emergency meeting next Tuesday at which it is expected to formally endorse a call for a “national day of protest” next Friday.

Meanwhile, Irish Ferries human resources director Alf McGrath continued to defend the company’s actions, saying it would go out of business within two years if staff costs are not slashed.