Five fitters in the maintenance section of Dublin Port Company have been suspended, according to their union because they have resisted being assigned to work as crew members on tugboats.
The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union says that two of the fitters had worked under protest on tugs last weekend, without training, and claims they were not equipped with lifejackets, safety harnesses or survival suits.
The union has complained to the Health and Safety Authority and says it has written to the chief executive of the port, Capt Enda Connellan, demanding that untrained personnel should not be assigned to tugboat work.
'In a week when seven fishermen lost their lives at sea it is extraordinary that a State-owned company should be asking fitters to double up as seamen,' said Arthur Hall of the TEEU.
Dublin Port Company has today strongly rejected the statement, calling it 'false and grossly misleading', and has called on the union to withdraw its statement.
The company said the fitters were not suspended for refusing to operate tugs in the present stormy conditions or for refusing to operate tugs that guide and tow vessels into Dublin.
They also claim that the suspensions resulted from the fitters' refusal to comply with a reasonable management request to undergo additional ongoing training.
Dublin Port Company says it is fully satisfied that all its tugs carry sufficient life-saving equipment.
