Plea to Government over ferry dispute

The Government was today urged to intervene in the industrial dispute at Irish Ferries before more jobs are lost.

SIPTU called on Marine Minister Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher to act now to ensure the survival of Irish seafarers.

Union Branch Secretary Paul Gallagher said it was now clear that Irish Ferries’ management intended to outsource the employment of Irish and British seafarers on all of the company’s ships and routes.

“That is the only conclusion to be drawn from their astonishing rejection of union proposals for savings in terms and conditions on the French service - which were more than enough to secure the future of that route with crews made up of Irish and British seafarers,” he said.

“Management had initially claimed that they would achieve €3.4m in savings through outsourcing. But when the unions presented proposals for real savings of over €2.4m a year, management moved the goalposts – saying the target was now in excess of €5m.

“The savings being offered by the unions were exclusive of any future Government assistance which would further improve the bottom line for the French service. However, by rejecting them out of hand, management has revealed its real intentions,” he added.

Hundreds of Irish Ferries staff have already been laid off during the dispute.

Representatives of SIPTU, NUMAST, RMT, TGWU, Unison and other affiliates attended an International Transport Workers’ Federation meeting in London today where they unanimously decided to develop a co-ordinated strategy to oppose social dumping on the Irish Sea with particular reference to ferries.

The group is to seek an early meeting with the Minister for the Marine.