Further and bigger protests to defend employment standards were predicted by union leaders yesterday during a major rally in Dublin in support of workers at Irish Ferries.
Gardaí present estimated that 10,000 people, most of them marching behind trade union banners, took part in yesterday's march from Liberty Hall to the Dáil.
The march concluded with a rally at which union members were joined by TDs from the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Green Party and the Socialist Party. The demonstration was organised by Siptu, which is in dispute with Irish Ferries over its plan to replace unionised seafarers with cheaper labour from eastern Europe.
Addressing the rally, Siptu president Jack O'Connor said the Irish Ferries case was not an isolated one. Workers in a range of sectors including construction, contract cleaning and security had been replaced by "vulnerable workers from other countries".
Others in sectors including banking and financial services were also in the process of discovering the displacement of jobs and exploitation of migrant workers, he said.
And there were yet others who who had not seen fit to join yesterday's march, he added. "But they will join us before too long because they are about to discover too that this is something that is coming to a workplace near every single one of us."
The next protest, he said, would be even bigger than yesterday's. "Because the way things are going in this country, sisters and brothers, it would be inappropriate and unwise to hang up your walking boots, because it looks like we'll be doing a lot of walking this winter."
Workers at the head of the march, which at one point stretched from Liberty Hall to Dawson Street, carried a banner declaring: "No slave ships on Irish Sea." Other banners and placards carried messages such as "No yellow pack crews" and "Protect Irish workers".
Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary David Begg challenged Irish Ferries' claim that its decision to outsource crewing arrangements was necessary due to competitive pressures.
But even if a case of genuine competitive pressure could be established, he said, it would still be morally wrong to address it by paying workers €3.60 an hour.
Mr Begg said a "race to the bottom" in employment conditions would almost certainly create social tensions and "a misjudged antipathy" towards foreign workers.
"Out of this can come space for malevolent political forces. This has been the experience of some very stable European countries. We would do well to learn from their experience and be sure not to emulate it."
Gardaí ensured that the march, which began at 2pm, caused minimal disruption to city centre traffic. Talks on the Irish Ferries dispute between the company and Siptu are to take place at the Labour Court on Monday.
