New offers made by Isle of Man ferry firm to resolve dispute

Nautilus represents 48 of the ferry company's 70 officers

A number of options have been put forward by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company to resolve a row over contract changes, the firm's boss has said.

Brian Thomson said "different" proposals had been made at discussions with union Nautilus and the Manx Industrial Relations Service.

He said it was "too early a stage" to discuss details but he was "hopeful" a resolution could be found.

It follows cuts to services as union members work-to-rule.

No cover could be found after a rostered officer who has taken compassionate leave, so passenger trips have been reduced to one daytime sailing of the Manxman each day for a fortnight, the company said.

The vessel MV Arrow will also carry out overnight freight services for the government-owned ferry firm for the period.

Brian Thomson said new proposals had been made in recent talks

The dispute, which began in August, centres around live aboard arrangements on the Manxman during rest periods.

Those who had not signed proposed new contracts were put on 12 weeks' notice on 22 December.

Mr Thomson said a "few proposals have been put forward" during the latest discussions.

He said: "We just need to work those through... there are things on the table that we feel could bring things to a head."

"We may have served notice but that doesn't mean we don't want to try and resolve this situation."

The company needed to "run the Manxman at it's full capacity" and not "be held back by historic working practices", he added.

On Wednesday, Mr Thomson and the Steam Packet chairman Lars Ugland met with the chief minister and the treasury minister to update them on the dispute and its affects on services.

A government spokeswoman said discussions centred around gaining "further insights" on the industrial action and "exploring strategies to minimise disruption".

The next steps and proposed measures would be shared and discussed with the Council of Ministers on Thursday, she confirmed.

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