Protest march over plan to axe ferry jobs
Thousands of workers are to march on the Dáil today to voice their anger over the controversial redundancies at Irish Ferries.
Some of the most powerful trade unions in the country united to urge people to show their disgust at the growing displacement of unionised labour by vulnerable migrant workers.
Jack O’Connor, president of the country’s largest trade union SIPTU, called upon people to support the march. SIPTU warned moves by Irish Ferries to replace employees on its vessels with cheaper staff from overseas could be a glimpse of the future for workers across Europe.
Management and workers at the successful ferry firm have been locked in a long-running dispute over the company’s plan to lay off around 550 seafaring staff on its Irish Sea routes and replace them with cheaper staff.
Unions supporting today’s march from Liberty Hall to Leinster House include SIPTU, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, IMPACT, ATGWU, the Irish Nurses Organisation.
ICTU has said the ramifications of what was happening at the company extended beyond Ireland.
If the proposed Services Directive of the European Commission went through in its current form it would have disastrous effects, the congress has warned, pointing to the example of a Polish labour contracting agency offering workers for hire at between €4 and €7 an hour.
