Stena Line told to raise job loss terms

STENA Line has been told to increase the redundancy terms for 39 staff who were let go from the company’s Dún Laoghaire base, but demands for the staff to be relocated to its Dublin Port Centre have been rejected.

The dispute arose after the company decided to close its year-round high-speed ferry service and replace it with a seasonal service beginning next April.

SIPTU brought the matter before the Labour Court last week. In advance of that hearing, the union had argued that two separate agreements in 2007 and 2009 meant any workers who lost their roles due to Dún Laoghaire downsizing had to be relocated to Dublin Port on the same terms and conditions.

In the Labour Court, the union said the compulsory redundancies were part of the company’s outsourcing agenda, that Stena was denying workers the opportunity for permanent part-time work and that those affected were losing permanent, defined-benefit pensionable jobs.

For its part, the company argued it was committed to operating a viable seasonal service between Holyhead and Dún Laoghaire, it could not offer that service without removing all fixed costs during the winter lay-by period and had no option but to make workers redundant.