The Government will attempt to frustrate the Irish Ferries plan to make more than 500 of its seafaring workers redundant and replace them with staff on lower pay by slowing down the process of reflagging two of the company's ships.
As the divisions widened yesterday between Irish Ferries and its unions, Siptu suggested that it might refuse to enter talks on a new social partnership pay agreement over the company's breach of the Sustaining Progress deal.
Irish Ferries wants to register the ships on its Dublin-Holyhead and Rosslare-Pembroke routes abroad, probably in the Bahamas, because there is some doubt about the legality of its plans under Irish employment law.
But Government sources said that the Irish Ferries application in recent days to reflag its ships was unlikely to be processed quickly. While the delisting of a vessel from the Irish register is usually a straightforward procedure, the sources said the Government will be in no hurry to process the application.
The application will be examined "very carefully", they said, indicating that the process will be slow. This effort to delay the processing of the Irish Ferries application reflects Government anger at a plan condemned by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, as "deplorable" and "sharp practice".
Mr Ahern has already asked the Attorney General, Rory Brady, to examine whether the plan is legal. Mr Brady is also assessing whether State redundancy compensation can be paid to workers in a case where the company proposes to rehire staff on less pay.
While the Mr Brady has yet to determine whether that is so, a ruling that the State compensation cannot be paid would make the "voluntary severance" scheme less attractive.
Tension between Irish Ferries and the unions escalated when the company declined an invitation to attend talks yesterday at the Labour Court.
The company's spokesman would not say why it did not attend but said it "would be happy to go to discuss aspects in relation to the Registered Employment Agreement when a mutually convenient time can be arranged".
While Siptu is threatening strike action from Monday, Irish Ferries said last night that it had "signed acceptances" from 75 per cent of its 543 seafaring staff.
The company has warned its workers that the full redundancy package will not be available to staff who take industrial action.
Given the level of acceptances claimed by the company - but questioned by its unions - this warning may weaken the hand of unions to take strike action.
The Irish Ferries spokesman said the company "will be planning to sail our vessels according to our published schedule" when asked whether passengers intending to sail with the company next week should make alternative plans. "It would be hoped that passengers and freight customers would not be inconvenienced by action that is not of their making," he said.
Siptu president Jack O'Connor said the dispute was "the greatest test that the social partnership process has faced" since it was introduced in 18 years ago.
While the union will vote next week on whether it should enter talks on a new national agreement, Mr O'Connor said that the position adopted by Irish Ferries would have a significant impact on its attitude to the talks.
"Some people ask if we would be better off outside an agreement, but if employer organisations are going to behave like this increasing numbers of my members are asking if we are better off inside, and I am becoming inclined to agree with them.
"The most daunting aspect of all that is taking place is the position being adopted by Ibec. Its director general, Turlough O'Sullivan, has refused to rule out similar approaches by other employers, citing competition as the reason," he said
There was no formal comment yesterday from Ibec.
