Timeline of the Irish Ferries dispute

20 October 2004

Irish Ferries announce that 150 jobs are to be lost on sailings to France. The workers will be let go at the end of November and will be replaced by non-Irish EU workers

26 November

Irish Ferries are forced to cancel remaining sailings for November from Cherbourg to Rosslare on foot of SIPTU's decision to serve notice of industrial action on Irish Ferries.

2 December

Irish Ferries sailings to Britain are cancelled because of a 24-hour strike at the company by ships' officers. Irish Ferries alleges that SIPTU has breached a legally binding agreement with it by calling the strike before the dispute has been aired at both the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and the Labour Court.

7 December

Irish Ferries sacks 400 staff members as workers are due to begin indefinite strike action.

9 December

Another 200 are laid off as the strike by ships officers continues.

16 December 2004

SIPTU agree to call off strike, following an intervention by the National Implementation Body, which recommends that the company and the union return to talks at the LRC.

29 March

SIPTU threaten strike action after the company refuses to say if it will abide by a Labour Court recommendation that the company should be allowed use outsourced or cheap Eastern European and Asian crews on its MV Normandy ship but should retain directly employed officers and engineers.

June 2005

A six week truce is agreed in June between Irish Ferries and SIPTU. In a statement, both Siptu and Irish Ferries note they have agreed to appoint "assessors to conduct a comprehensive review of operations encompassing the Irish Sea and Continental corridors". SIPTU chiefs pledge to stop its co-ordination of protests at the port of Cherbourg and order a media 'blackout' for six weeks.

September 2005

It emerges that Irish Ferries are seeking 543 voluntary redundancies, and are planning to replace these workers with cheaper labour. Workers have until 2 October to accept the package.

1 October

The High Court issues an interim injunction preventing Irish Ferries from terminating any jobs. Irish Ferries chief executive Eamonn Rothwell says that "almost 90 per cent" of its seafaring staff have signed up for the package. The staff have been told that they must sign up for the scheme by 2 October or continue with the company on less pay.

14 November

The Labour Court says that Irish Ferries should not proceed with plans to lay off its workers, and that the company should honour its existing arrangements in the dispute over the outsourcing of staff. The Labour Court says it was not satisfied that all possibilities of renegotiating aspects of the agreement had been exhausted. As part of the agreement the company was to maintain its regular staffing on its Irish Sea routes until 2007. The company rejects these recommendations.

25 November

Workers barricade themselves inside the control room on two Irish Ferries ships docked in Wales. The stand-off begns after management brought on Eastern European workers accompanied by security personnel onto the vessels.