Robbery on the High Seas

I remember at the time of the Irish Ferries strike a couple of years, a few right-wing lapdogs in the Irish media tried to tar the protesting Unions as xenophobic because they were opposed to foreigners taking jobs from Irish people. SIPTU and other unions at the time pointed out that they were opposed, not to foreign labour being used, but to wages being cut to under the minimum wage by registering companies and vessels abroad. Now, according to a report in yesterday's Examiner, shipping employees are being paid as little as €1.31 per hour. We've come a long way in Ireland, haven't we? Well, it's not technically slavery.