Union victory in Irish Ferries dispute
The Irish unions have won the struggle with Irish Ferries, who had planned to fire
its entire staff and replace it with Eastern Europeans working for half the Irish minimum wage. A settlement has been reached in which anybody who wants to stay on, can and the new employees will be paid at least minimum wage.
A partial victory for the unions then; the status quo has not been reinstated, but the attempt by Irish Ferries to instigate a “race to the bottom” has been checked. And both Irish workers and their Eastern European counterparts profit.
The crews’ union, Siptu, said on Wednesday it had secured favourable terms and conditions for those who wished to stay with the company.
The union said it had also won a pay package for foreign workers which would bring wages up to at least the Irish minimum wage – a key objective for negotiators.
The union lost its fight to prevent the re-flagging of the company’s vessels abroad, but said it had established a framework to protect workers legally, irrespective of the country in which the ships were registered.
The crew members barricaded aboard the Ulysses voted in favour of the new terms and the ship left Holyhead on Wednesday afternoon.
Tags:
Irish Seaferry strike,
unions,
socialism