Government committee bids to end ferry dispute
A Government industrial relations committee today intervened in the Irish Ferries dispute to safeguard sailings over the festive period.
The National Implementation Body has outlined five steps to resolve the dispute and protect services to Wales and France.
The dispute, now almost three weeks old, centres on management plans to outsource hundreds of staff on the Rosslare to France route to cut costs by almost €5m.
The group representing the Government, IBEC and unions called on both sides to open talks under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission to deal with all outstanding matters.
If no solution can be found at the LRC, it was recommended the Labour Court intervene to strike a compromise.
Both sides must drop any pre-conditions in a bid to ensure the viable running of services between France and Ireland over Christmas.
All industrial action whether by “strike” or “lock-out” must cease with immediate effect, the body said, and no further action should be taken by either side while the LRC deals with the issue.
Finally the NIB called on all parties to resist victimisation as a result of the dispute.
Management believes savings of between €5m and €6m could be made by hiring third-party agency staff, while SIPTU proposals would only lead to cost cutting of €2.1m.
Haulage groups, hoteliers and exporters have fiercely criticised the dispute and claimed it could cause long term economic damage to the country.
