Sea fisheries staff in Killybegs to launch second strike in a week

Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) staff based in Killybegs are set to take part in a second work stoppage in a week.

Members of the Fórsa trade union at the SFPA will take part in a 48-hour work stoppage from midnight on Tuesday.

The action by 110 inspectors and clerical staff at six sea fishery harbours follows a 24-hour stoppage last Wednesday.

A spokesman for the union said on Tuesday there had been no developments that would prevent the 48-hour stoppage from going ahead.

He said the action, which involves between 15 and 20 inspectors based at Killybegs, said the action will slow the process of  landing catches and getting them to wholesale, retail and processing. 

As well as Killybegs, the action will affect the sea fishery harbours at Ros-a-Mhíl, Co Galway; Dingle, Co Kerry; Castletownbere, Co Cork; Dunmore East, Co Waterford and Howth, Co Dublin.

The action is part of a dispute involving the findings of an independent review of the SFPA carried out by Price Waterhouse Coopers.

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The union served notice of the industrial action earlier this month, when it informed SFPA management that it was reactivating industrial action which had previously been suspended in March 2021, when the parties had agreed to attend a reconciliation process under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). 

Fórsa said it had agreed a proposal with management to undertake a joint approach to implementing a series of 47 recommendations emerging from the review. 

It said management at the SFPA has sought to implement and impose the recommendations without the input of the staff representatives in the agency, which is necessary to ensure the joint approach agreed by all parties.

Fórsa members at the SFPA  voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in February 2021.

Planned industrial action in March 2021 was suspended, and meetings took place as part of the WRC reconciliation process in March, April and May 2021 without resolution.

The matters in dispute were referred to the Labour Court, and a hearing took place in June 2021. The court ultimately advised the parties that the issues in dispute could only be resolved through a binding arbitration, which both parties assented to.

Fórsa says the arbitration process, scheduled for July 2021, was disrupted at the last minute when the SFPA informed the Court that any outcome would need to be approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. 

The union said that following the collapse of the industrial relations process last year, SFPA management has continued to alter core working conditions and agreements unilaterally.

The SFPA has sought the commencement of a new industrial relations process, which  “is an attempt by management to frustrate the state industrial relation resolution process it had previously committed to,” the union said.