Ferry staff to take strike action

Unions and Seacat management are in talks

Staff on Seacat's ferry link between Troon and Belfast are likely to strike later this week.

The news came after talks between management and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) at Northern Ireland's Labour Relations Agency in Belfast broke up without agreement on Tuesday afternoon.

But a Seacat passenger is taking legal action in the Northern Ireland High Court on Wednesday in a bid to prevent the strike.

Employees working on the Belfast to Troon and Heysham routes said they would be taking indefinite strike action from Thursday over working conditions.

The TSSA said the company was refusing to recognise the union, which represents more than four-fifths of employees.

Unions want working hours reduced

Deputy secretary John Allen said nearly all its members had voted for the strike, which was being seen as a last resort.

He said: "We want to get the hours that some individuals have been required to work reduced to a sensible level.

"We don't want staff coming off feeling excessive amounts of fatigue and I am sure that all the customers of Seacat don't want those staff to be excessively tired."

A spokesman for Seacat said its contingency plans should ensure that sailings would be unaffected despite the planned strike action.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the spokesman added: "Contrary to the claims made by the TSSA it does not represent a significant proportion of our seagoing staff.

"Of the 198 employed on the Irish Sea routes only 23 voted in that TSSA ballot.

"The company regrets that intending passengers have faced uncertainty but the blame lies firmly on the shoulders of the TSSA who are currently involved in an inter-union dispute over recognition rights."

Success of route

Seacat, a subsidiary of Sea Containers, launched the Troon service in April last year.

The company then abandoned its Stranraer to Belfast link in March this year, citing the success of the new route as the reason for consolidating its Irish Sea operations in Troon.

Earlier this year another subsidiary of Sea Containers, the Argyll and Antrim Steam Packet company, announced it was withdrawing from the loss-making Campbeltown to Ballycastle route.