Up to 50 road hauliers gathered in their lorries at the Naas Road in Dublin yesterday in protest at what they described as a "punishment sacking" by Road stone Dublin Ltd.
The action followed last Friday's withdrawal of service to Roadstone by some drivers who said they were attending meetings on health and safety issues.
It is understood the hauliers have concerns over health and safety issues as well as pay rates for haulage they traditionally carry out on an informal basis for the company. When they turned up for duties yesterday the drivers claimed they were told their services were no longer required.
In a statement last night, Roadstone said it viewed the stoppage on Friday last as unacceptable. The company said it was "forced to adjust delivery schedules" yesterday as a result, as it was unable to ascertain whether these hauliers would provide their services.
The company said it had been notified "by a number of temporary self-employed hauliers" late last Thursday evening that they would not be making their services available on Friday. It said the reason it had been given was an impromptu "health and safety day". Roadstone said it suffered severe disruption in its delivery service to the Dublin construction market.
The statement added that the company placed the highest emphasis on health and safety and had recently started a safety training programme. Following yesterday's moves the company said it would meet hauliers "on an individual basis" to discuss health and safety.
The independent hauliers are not part of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), but the president of the IRHA, Mr Gerry McMahon, said that he had received a number of calls from drivers on the issue.
"The people who talked to us were sure that they were victims of a punishment sacking but as we don't represent them we were unable to be involved," he said.
