Tánaiste Mary Harney yesterday appealed to Irish Ferries management to use the labour relations machinery of the State to resolve the dispute. She warned that the country as well as the company and workers would suffer if they failed to do so.
Ms Harney said people should "stand back from the brink" in the Irish Ferries row and "look at the bigger picture", as the Irish economy as well as the company and workers would lose out if the dispute went unresolved and the company went out of business.
"I understand there is an initiative this afternoon and I hope the company, through that initiative, can use that machinery to bring about a resolution and that we would not have a situation like we have seen over the weekend which no one is going to benefit from," she said.
"The last thing I want to see is the workers to lose their employment, the company to go out of business and the country to lose out. And that is what will happen and we would have less opportunities for visitors to come here, not to mention the loss of business opportunities."
Ms Harney pointed out that it was she, as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, who brought in the minimum wage legislation. She said she believed workers were fully entitled to benefit from that legislation and not be treated in this fashion.
"I was the Minister who introduced the minimum wage and I feel very strongly about workers' rights and the right to get a minimum return for your effort and to be treated with dignity and respect," she said.
"The best companies in the world always do that - we are all the beneficiaries when this happens. We are all the losers when it doesn't happen," said Ms Harney, adding that the country had enjoyed the benefits of industrial harmony for over a decade now.
"We have operated in an environment of virtual industrial peace for the last decade . . . It has led to unprecedented levels of foreign direct investment because Ireland is known as a place where you can do business in partnership . . . I hope we can continue in that spirit."
