A spokesperson for SIPTU has said that many Irish Ferries workers who had accepted the voluntary redundancy package offered by the company are now changing their minds.
This follows advice by the Attorney General on Friday that the company's redundancies may not legally be genuine redundancies and that therefore the deal being offered would not be as financially attractive.
Irish Ferries said that as far as the company was concerned, 90% of the workers have so far accepted the deal but the final tally will not be known until tomorrow morning.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio earlier, the SIPTU president, Jack O'Connor, described the Government's handling of the affair as 'lethargic'.
A Labour Court hearing into the dispute is due to take place tomorrow.
Meanwhile. the General Secretary of the ICTU, David Begg, has warned that the Irish Ferries issue is a symptom of a deeper problem, which has implications far beyond social partnership.
On RTE's The Week in Politics programme, Mr Begg said people should think of the political consequences of such a 'race to the bottom'.
He warned that it would result in the growth of far-right political parties which pedalled a 'pernicious' doctrine against immigration.
He also said the Irish Ferries development is indefensible from a moral standpoint and that it should be possible for the Government to legislate to cover the situation of transport between Ireland and the UK.
