Company secures injunction protecting 'scab' employees from intimidation

A cargo handing company involved in an industrial dispute has secured a High Court injunction preventing anyone harassing threatening its employees who have continued to work during the strike.

Marine Terminals have been involved in a dispute over pay and conditions and job losses with a number of its employees, who are members of SIPTU.

The firm sought the orders over what they claim is an unlawful escalation by the Unions and the strikers who have allegedly tried to coerce and intimidate employees of Marine Terminals who are not on strike to cease working by calling them "scabs".

Today at the High Court Mr Justice Kevin Feeney granted Marine Terminals Ltd South bank Quay Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4 an interim injunction against SIPTU, who represent most of the workers at the firm, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and 10 named individuals.

Those individuals include ICTU's assistant general secretary Peter Bunting, SIPTU officials Oliver McDonagh and Christy McQuillan and SIPTU's General Secretary Joe O'Flynn, Ken Fleming an agent of the International Transport Workers Federation and five current and former employees of the company.

Under the terms of the order the defendants and their agents cannot intimidate harass or threaten any persons employed by the company who have continued to work during the strike by members of SIPTU that commenced in early July.

The Judge, who granted the injunction on an ex parte (one side only) basis, made the matter returnable to Thursday next.