Irish Ferries has now laid off an estimated 80 per cent of its staff in the continuing dispute over the outsourcing of seafarers' jobs on its MV Normandyroute to France.
Siptu statement
Mr Paul Smyth of Siptu said that by this evening the company had laid off around 90 clerical staff in Rosslare and Dublin as well as up to 80 per cent of seafarers, numbering several hundred.
The staff involved in the dispute had been placed on protective notice, he said.
Mr Smyth said a number of people who had been let go had now been told they were not entitled to claim social welfare and that they should present themselves to their welfare officer in the union.
He said there were currently no talks underway that might help resolve the dispute, even though the union had said it was prepared to enter "immediate talks without precondition".
"At this stage, I think the company are just being deliberately belligerent."
The company has said it was forced to outsource jobs on the France route to maintain the competitiveness of the route. It has also insisted its unilateral move to cancel ferry services on Sunday, before the strike commenced, was provoked by staff refusing to carry out the company's instructions.
A spokesman for the company could not immediately be contacted for comment.
Siptu, meanwhile, today called on the Government and the National Implementation Body to intervene in the dispute between the union and Irish Ferries to "avoid any further hardship to customers and staff".
In a statement, the union's clerical and administration section representing 125 workers asked Irish Ferries management to meet the ships' officers for "immediate discussions" to help resolve the impasse.
"Any lay-offs at this time of year will cause severe hardship to the families concerned," the statement added.
The section represents around 125 workers at Irish Ferries.
Services to Britain and France came to a halt yesterday as staff who are members of Siptu commenced an all-out strike.
Their dispute centres on the outsourcing of jobs on the Irish Ferries service to France. The company insists it had to take the step to remain competitive on the Ireland-France route.