Irish Ferries staff stage 'lock-in on-board' protest

A row between management and unions which has led to the cancellation of services on the Irish Sea by Irish Ferries intensified today.

On the third day of a stand-off between the two sides a number of officers on board one vessel claimed to have barricaded themselves into the ship to prevent security staff throwing them off and replacing them with cheap east European labour.

Union representatives claimed they had been refused access to crew members of one of the vessels – the Ulysses, which is tied up in Holyhead rather than running back and forth to Dublin.

The International Transport Workers Federation said members of the British seafarers’ union, NUMAST, was refused permission to board the ship.

They also claimed the crew of the Ulysses were not free to go ashore.

The union also said members had been denied access to the crew of the Isle of Inishmore, which is tied up in Pembroke rather than sailing back and forth to Rosslare, on Thursday.

The stand-offs began when Irish Ferries management attempted to bring in east European workers on board as part of a redundancy plan to lay off around 550 seafarers in favour of cheaper foreign workers.

The company claims a voluntary redundancy scheme is progressing and they are attempting to replace workers accepting a deal.

The SIPTU union is urging the Irish Congress of Trades Unions to hold rallies across Ireland on Friday to support the ferry crews.

Union boss Jack O’Connor said yesterday: “The Irish Ferries dispute is a defining moment in the relations between employers and workers in this country.”

Even Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has condemned management for their handling of the redundancy dispute.

He accused them of making a step back in industrial relations history. “ This is a retrograde step by them. This is not in line with Irish industrial relations, they are trying to turn back the clock.

“About everything that they have done in their handling of this I fundamentally and totally disagree with.”

An engineer on the Ulysses, Gary Jones, said today: “We have secured the engine room/control room because, the company has told us, of a security firm on board trying to remove us from the vessel and replace us with cheap European labour.”

Irish Ferries insisted it had been completely open about what it was doing in bringing in new crew as part of a cost cutting exercise – and said it was totally justified in using security staff on the vessel.

Company spokesman Alf McGrath said: “The security measures were necessary because in December of last year SIPTU staged two strikes and totally locked up the ship in Holyhead and would not allow regulatory agencies or any management on to the ship.

“We have a duty and responsibility to protect our assets.”