Trade union claims about the pay and conditions of crew employed by Swansea-Cork Ferries were rejected by the company yesterday .
A number of unions and the International Transport Federation (ITF) accused the company of operating a "climate of fear" and paying wages greatly inferior to industry norms to its 90 crew members. In response, the company denied the claims and said it was instituting legal proceedings against the federation.
The ITF said that up to last year, the company's crew received about half the national minimum wage applying to the Republic and Britain.
A deal it negotiated with the company, it claimed, unravelled after crew members were told it could threaten the company's viability and cost them their jobs.
Mr Tony Ayton, who represents the ITF in the Republic, said the deal would have brought the crew's wages to slightly in excess of the minimum wage of €6.35 an hour.
The company, which operates the MV Superferrybetween Cork and Swansea, said the federation's claims were "factually incorrect".
A spokesman said the crew's current wages were in excess of those sought by the ITF in discussions held last year.
Since November last, crew were paid more than the minimum wage of "a number of European countries" and also more than ITF-agent approved rates.
Asked about wages prior to that, a spokesman said a different system had applied then because the company had hired vessels "which came with crew and agreements on board".
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the British Trade Unions Congress, the Polish trade union Solidarnosc and SIPTU supported the ITF claims.