Labour demands Govt intervention in ferries dispute

The Labour Party has called on the Government to intervene in the dispute over Irish Ferries' controversial plan to replace its workers with cheap labour from abroad.

Ships' officers are currently preventing two ferries from leaving Wales after the company attempted to remove existing crews and replace them with low-paid Latvian staff.

The dispute is already threatening the future of social partnership, with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions refusing to enter new partnership talks until it receives assurances that "job displacement" will be allowed.

Labour TD Brendan Howlin said today that the Government could no longer stand on the sidelines and do nothing about the situation.

"It's a defining minute for Irish industrial relations," he said.

"Either we're going to allow this maverick company to destroy decades of advance in the concept of partnership in this country, or we're going to resist it."