Irish Ferries services will begin returning to normal today after SIPTU agreed yesterday to call off its strike by ships officers.
The decision to end the dispute followed an intervention by the National Implementation Body, which recommended that the company and the union return to talks at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
The implementation body was set up under the partnership process and includes high-level representatives of the Government, employers and unions.
The SIPTU strike committee spent much of yesterday seeking clarification about aspects of the recommendation before announcing shortly after 6 p.m. that the strike was off.
As a result, the company hopes to have its three Irish Sea vessels back in operation today. Mr Alf McGrath, director of human resources, said the MV Ulysses was due to sail from Holyhead last night so the Dublin-Holyhead service could be resumed this morning.
He said it would be the afternoon, however, before the Isle of Inishmore, docked in Pembroke since the strike began, would start operating again on the Pembroke-Rosslare route. The high-speed Jonathan Swift would operate between Dublin and Holyhead "weather permitting", he said.
The company's customer service representatives were yesterday contacting those who had made bookings to advise them of the situation.
The strike was held in response to the company's decision to outsource crew next year on its service between Rosslare and France, which SIPTU views as replacing Irish seafarers with low-paid foreign workers.
It has proposed alternative cost-savings of more than €2 million on the route, but has said it will not discuss outsourcing. The compromise formula put forward by the NIB, however, means that that option will have to be discussed in new talks between the sides.
The implementation body said the parties should enter talks at the LRC and, in the event of no agreement being reached, refer the dispute to the Labour Court.
"All options to achieve the viable operation of the route [ Ireland-France] shall be explored without precondition by either side," it stated
It added that all industrial action, "whether by 'strike' or 'lock-out' ", should cease with immediate effect. According to the recommendation, there should be no further "precipitate action" by either side and no victimisation as a result of the dispute.
The recommendation was immediately accepted by Irish Ferries. SIPTU's strike committee, however, expressed concern about a company proposal to levy a bed-and-breakfast charge of €165 a night on members who were "locked in" on the MV Ulysses and MV Isle of Inishmore since the strike began. The two vessels have been docked at Holyhead and Pembroke respectively since then.
Mr McGrath, however, said the crew members concerned had not been locked in, but had in fact refused to leave the ships. SIPTU, he claimed, was simultaneously referring to the dispute as a lock-out and a lock-in. "It can't be both."
The bed-and-breakfast issue will be dealt with as part of the discussions at the LRC, which are expected to get under way within days. The company last night began the process of reinstating 650 staff temporarily laid off during the strike.
Passengers seeking information about the company's services have been advised to check its website, www.irishferries.com, or call 0818 300400.
