Irish Ferries rejects Labour Court call on lay-off plan
The prospects for a new social-partnership agreement suffered a major setback last night when Irish Ferries rejected a Labour Court recommendation on its controversial "outsourcing" plan.
The company is currently trying to lay off all its sea-faring workers and replace them with cheaper labour from eastern Europe.
It is planning to pay the new workers less than the minimum wage and is allowed to implement the move because Irish labour laws do not apply on the seas.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has already refused to enter talks on a new social-partnership deal until it receives assurances from the Government that such actions will not tolerated.
Yesterday, the Labour Court recommended that Irish Ferries shelve its lay-off plans and honour an agreement on seafarers' pay and conditions that it reached with unions in June of last year.
The company rejected the recommendations within a matter of hours, repeating that it has no choice but to cut costs in the face of increased competition.
