Irish Ferries Deal?

national | worker & community struggles and protests | other press Monday December 05, 2005 15:48 by siptu member

SIPTU are currently entering into negotiations based on the recommendations of the National Implementation Body for ending the Irish Ferries dispute. Please see below, statement of National Implementation Body.

Statement by the National Implementation Body
Sunday, 4th December, 2005

The National Implementation Body was established to help to ensure delivery of the stability and peace provisions of Sustaining Progress. Under that agreement, the NIB may make recommendations to the social partners to ensure the effective delivery of the spirit and intent of the Partnership Agreement.

The NIB has been monitoring closely developments in the dispute at Irish Ferries. It has done so with particular regard to the impact of this dispute on the wider climate of industrial relations and, in particular, on the capacity of employers and trade unions to promote industrial harmony as a critical element in maintaining confidence and stability in the economy, as provided for in Sustaining Progress.

In this context, the NIB is particularly mindful of the concerns which have been expressed about the maintenance and protection of employment standards in the Irish labour market. The NIB believes that it is appropriate that it should convey to the social partners, and to the Government, its considered views on the situation which has now developed. In particular, the NIB wishes to convey its concern that the situation which has now evolved has the potential to damage significantly the climate of trust and stability which has developed over the years in the context of social partnership. This reflects the specific anxieties regarding the adequacy of employment protection measures, notwithstanding the commitment of the social partners to the operation of a flexible labour market as set out in Sustaining Progress. Instability also arises from the fact that the process of negotiating a successor to Sustaining Progress has not yet commenced.

Accordingly, the NIB recommends to the social partners and to the Government as follows:

1. There is a need to review, improve where necessary and promulgate the range of employment protection measures which apply to workers in the Irish economy on the lines of the terms of the Taoiseach’s letter to the ICTU on October 21st, and related issues subsequently raised;

2. The process outlined at (1) should comprehend in particular the incentives and disincentives within public policy which might influence decisions to substitute lower paid workers for those currently employed in existing positions;

3. There is a need to ensure that inspection and enforcement systems in respect of mandatory employment standards are effective in providing assurance both to employees and to responsible employers who meet fully their obligations;

4. The position of vulnerable workers who have re-located to Ireland from abroad should be the subject of a particular focus in these enforcement issues.

5. The arrangements which the NIB envisages should arise from the foregoing recommendations to secure an appropriate balance between employment protection and labour market flexibility are best reflected in the terms of an agreement between the social partners and the Government, since such agreement provides the strongest assurance of the widest support and implementation of these measures. Accordingly, the NIB strongly recommends that negotiations on a new partnership agreement should be commenced urgently, with a view to early agreement.

With regard to the specific dispute at Irish Ferries, the NIB notes the extensive involvement of both the Labour Court and, currently, the Labour Relations Commission. It also recognises the unique character of the legal framework within which the maritime sector operates, not least having regard to the international regime regarding the determination of employment conditions by the country on whose register a vessel is entered, in the context of the right of establishment under EU law. Nonetheless, having regard to the impact of this dispute on the wider industrial relations scene, the NIB recommends:

- that Irish Ferries should suspend its application to re-register its vessels on the register of Cyprus;

- the efforts to arrive at an agreement regarding the terms and conditions of employees who wish to remain in the employment of Irish Ferries should continue and be brought to a conclusion not later than 7th December;

- the terms and conditions of employees who are recruited to work on these Irish Ferries vessels in the future should reflect, inter alia, Irish minimum wage arrangements, in the context of the unique nature of the contracts of employment which typically operate in the maritime sector, and to the competitive pressures faced by the company;

- in the event that the outcome of this process was that these vessels were not maintained on the Irish register, then the terms of any agreement with regard to existing employees, and the standards which would apply to employees who are recruited to work on these Irish Ferries vessels in the future, should be reflected in an agreement of binding character which would not be vitiated by any subsequent change in the country of registration.

The NIB therefore urges the parties, without prejudice to their respective positions, to engage fully with the Labour Relations Commission over the period ending on 7th December with a view to finalising an agreement.

ENDS