Hopes of an early breakthrough in the Irish Ferries dispute were dashed yesterday when the company said it had no knowledge of a reported initiative by the National Implementation Body.
Both sides in the dispute were reported on Wednesday night to have accepted an NIB proposal that four interlocutors be appointed to explore the scope for resolving the dispute. However, an Irish Ferries spokesman said yesterday that no such proposal had been made to the company. "We have had no approach, formal or informal, about anything to do with the National Implementation Body."
The company is in dispute with Siptu over its plan to lay-off of up to 543 unionised seafarers and replace them with cheaper migrant labour.
Unions are refusing to enter talks on a new social partnership agreement until the dispute is resolved and commitments are secured from the Government on measures to prevent a "race to the bottom" in employment standards. Irish Ferries this week rejected a Labour Court recommendation that it withdraw its outsourcing plan and instead continue to honour an existing agreement with seafarers.
The NIB initiative, had it got off the ground, would have seen the appointment of two trade union and two employer representatives as interlocutors. It is understood, however, that if such a proposal had been put to the company, it would have found it unacceptable.
Management representatives yesterday held direct talks on the outsourcing plan with seafarers on board Irish Sea vessels the Ulysses and the Isle of Inishmore.
The 543 workers on the Irish Sea routes have been offered the choice of redundancy or continued employment on reduced pay and conditions. The company says 90 per cent of the employees involved have applied for redundancy. It is understood the purpose of the ongoing meetings with crew on the ships is to ascertain the current views of staff and to explain the company's intentions.