Renewed attempts to find a basis for talks in the increasingly bitter Irish Ferries dispute will be made today by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
Representatives of the company and Siptu met the LRC separately yesterday for an initial round of exploratory discussions, but no progress was made towards a resolution.
The company's three Irish Sea vessels remained tied up in ports in Ireland and Wales yesterday as a stand-off involving ships' officers continued.
They have been refusing to sail the vessels since the company began on Thursday to implement its plan to replace unionised seafarers with agency workers on lower rates of pay.
The company said yesterday it was also likely to discontinue its Rosslare-France service for the time being.
The MV Normandy, which was allowed to dock at Dublin port on Sunday night after Siptu workers refused to allow the vessel into the port at Rosslare, sailed back to France yesterday without any passengers.
LRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey said last night the commission was continuing to assess the positions put to it by both parties with a view to finding a framework for negotiations.
A continuing stand-off, he warned, would have consequences not only for the company and its staff, but also for the wider business community.
"Ultimately this dispute will have to be resolved in some shape or form around the negotiating table by mutual agreement or understanding," he said.
There was little sign yesterday, however, that such an agreement was likely in the near future.
Siptu official Paul Smyth said the union was prepared to address the company's desire to cut costs if it wished to do that. But he claimed management's real agenda was to "annihilate Siptu from the company".
The current stand-off began on Thursday when the company sent security personnel on board the Isle of Inishmore at Pembroke and the Ulysses at Holyhead.
Agency staff from eastern Europe later arrived on both vessels for what the company called "familiarisation programmes" before they replaced staff who had accepted voluntary redundancy.
Mr Smyth said removing the security personnel and agency staff from the two vessels would not be enough to secure a resumption of services.
Siptu also needed to see on what basis any negotiations might take place. If the company continued with its move to re-register its vessels to another country, for example, "there will be no solution", he said.
Irish Ferries has applied to the Department of the Marine to have its Irish Sea vessels re-registered to Cyprus.
The ships' crews would then no longer have recourse to Irish employment laws, including the minimum wage.
A spokesman for the department said the application had been referred to the Attorney General, Rory Brady.
The employers' body, Ibec, warned that a continuing dispute would have a severe impact on exporters at a critical time of the year.
A national protest to highlight the issues arising from the dispute will be considered by the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions today, with December 8th the most likely date.
