Construction firm JJ Rhatigan has said the two men who have occupied a crane on their Kishoge school construction site in Dublin never worked for the company, but were employed by a sub-contractor.
In a statement this evening, the firm said that one of the crane occupants is a relative of the sub-contractor.
The company also insists it paid the subcontractor "more than enough" to ensure that it could pay its employees well above statutory amounts.
Rhatigan again denied that people employed by it have been paid as little as €5 per hour.
It noted that the site has been audited by independent auditors on behalf of the Department of Education who have confirmed that Rhatigan is in full compliance with statutory rates of pay.
It said that sub-contracting has been an industry norm for years and has served the industry, its employees and clients well.
However, the firm warned that up to 80 people at the site have had their jobs put in jeopardy by what it described as illegal activity.
It said it remains available to meet and discuss issues in accordance with standard industrial relations procedure.
JJ Rhatigan has commenced legal action aimed at preventing the action which has closed its school building site in Lucan.
Yesterday evening, two of the 18 strikers climbed into a 200 foot crane on site, and have pledged to remain there until the dispute over pay is resolved.
The strikers claim that the company is not paying industry rates for workers, with some being paid as little ad €5 per hour.
They also claim they are being obliged to work as self-employed contractors rather than as direct employees, meaning they are not entitled to benefits including pension contributions and sick pay.
Because of the occupation of the crane, gardaí halted all activity on the site on health and safety grounds.
All claims by the strikers' union Unite have been denied by Rhatigans.
Today, counsel for the company Tom Mallon SC told the High Court they were seeking injunctions following a number of incidents at the site, including the deliberate blocking of vehicles entering the site, and the occupation of the crane.
He said protesters had put their feet under the tyres of vehicles, and that a man in a wheelchair had gone into the middle of the entrance and refused to move.
He also told the court that pieces of wood with nails in them were left on the road near the entrance, and that a non-national bus driver bringing workers to a site had been "racially abused".
He said the situation had escalated when two people had climbed onto the crane at the Kishoge site, where the gardaí had told Rhatigans the situation was "serious" and had the site cleared.
Mr Mallon said his client rejected claims made in the media - especially that workers on the site had been paid €5 an hour.
Counsel said the subcontractor, who replaced another subcontractor who left the site, had already been paid €25,000 by the company.
Mr Justice Paul Gilligan granted Rhatigans permission to serve short service of proceedings against Unite the Union, Patrick Molloy, Stephen Gleeson and their company Gleeson & Molloy Bricklaying Services, which had been subcontracted by Rhatigans to lay bricks for the new community school, and several other members of the union.
The company is seeking injunctions restraining the defendants from interfering with access to and from several building sites including those at Griffeen Valley Lucan, St Patrick's College Drumcondra, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin and any other property or premises belonging to Rhatigans.
They are also seeking to prevent the defendants from trespassing on the site.
The defendants were not present in court, but the matter will be heard again tomorrow.
Unite Regional Officer Tom Fitzgerald said they would be taking legal advice regarding a possible defamation of union members, and reiterated that the school building was a Government funded project.
