Irish Ferries defends lay-off plan in full-page adverts
Irish Ferries has taken out full-page newspaper adverts defending its plan to replace 540 workers on its Irish Sea routes with cheaper labour from eastern Europe.
Thousands of trade union members marched through Dublin city centre yesterday to express their disgust and anger at the actions of the company.
The Government and opposition parties have also criticised Irish Ferries' over the matter.
The company is planning to change working conditions for its new staff and to pay them less than the minimum wage.
The moves are possible because Irish labour laws do not apply on the seas.
In its adverts today, Irish Ferries claimed the move was necessary due to protect its profitability in the face of increased competition from airlines and the fact that most other ferry firms already use cheap "outsourced" labour.
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