Irish Ferries sailings resumed this morning after both sides in the dispute at the company agreed to return to the negotiating table.
The move ends an 11-day strike that had resulted in the cancellation of all ferry services and the laying off of 606 employees.
The dispute at Irish Ferries centres around plans by management at the company to outsource staff on its Rosslare to Cherbourg route.
After ten days of sparring, an all out strike by SIPTU ships' officers began on Monday 6 December.
All Irish Ferries services between Dublin and Holyhead and between Rosslare and Cherbourg were cancelled while management and unions remained deadlocked.
The breakthrough to that deadlock came yesterday when both management and unions agreed to a National Implementation Body suggestion for talks at the Labour Relations Commission.
All staff who had been laid off during the dispute have been reinstated.
There is no fast ferry service from Dublin to Holyhead today because of adverse weather conditions.
Begg warns over outsourcing labour
Meanwhile, the General Secretary of ICTU, David Begg, has warned that outsourcing cheap labour has the potential to cause a great deal of social unrest as people saw their work's standard undercut.
Asked about the strike in Irish Ferries, Mr Begg said that he viewed the contract labour issue with a great deal of apprehension.
He said the true impact of outsourcing had been disguised because of the current buoyant economy.
He acknowledged that some industries, including the health, hospitality and horticulture sectors, could not function without substantial numbers of immigrant staff.
However, he said the challenge was to ensure that people were not exploited.
