Irish Ferries - Controversy

Controversy

On 23 February 2004,close Irish Ferries announced that firm could close over a dispute about a cost-cutting plan if it was not resolved soon. Director of Human Resources Alf McGrath announced the lay-off of 600 staff in the following few days. Also announced was the suspension of the swift ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, the Rosslare–Pembroke service, and the Rosslare route to Cherbourg and Roscoff.

On the 24 March 2005 it became known that, according to SIPTU, a contractor working for Irish Ferries was paying a Filipina woman just over €1 an hour to work as a beauty therapist on board the MS Isle of Inishmore. Salvacion Orge had just begun working as a beauty therapist on the ferry, but the company ended her contract by closing down the service following queries about the wages she was being paid. She refused to disembark from the vessel. A meeting took place on the 29 March 2005 and after two hours of negotiation between her management and the trade union SIPTU, Ms. Orge was granted €24,000. The crew on board the ferry also made a collection for her totalling around €1,000. The next day she flew from Dublin to the Philippines and was reunited with her three teenage children.

On 19 September 2005, Irish Ferries offered voluntary redundancy packages to its 543 seafaring workers on its Irish Sea services on the Dublin–Holyhead and Rosslare–Pembroke routes. The firm stated they could not continue to operate with high fuel costs and increasing competition from rival shipping operators and low-cost airlines. The statement also said the situation had deteriorated that year with a 9% drop in the Irish Sea car passenger market and rises of up to 50% in the cost of fuel. The decision by Irish Ferries to outsource crewing on its Rosslare to France routes earlier that year led to a strike and demonstrations in France.

In late November 2005, the outsourcing of the crewing of two Irish Ferries vessels commenced and the contractor's employees came on board. This led to a stand-off between management and crew, and an intense political debate in Ireland.

On 9 December 2005, a nationwide day of protest was called by the Irish Council of Trade Unions against the company's actions. Over 100,000 people were said to have participated, including 40,000 in Dublin. The protest stopped all public transport for over four hours.

The dispute was ultimately resolved through the Irish Labour Relations Commission, with a legally binding agreement reached between the company and the trades unions.