Unions representing hundreds of workers at the Isle of Man Steam Packet will step up their campaign to defend ferry services to the mainland, claiming attempts are being made to undermine them using vessels crewed by seafarers on "poverty pay and appalling conditions".
Workers will stage protests on the island and in Liverpool as part of a campaign to protect local jobs and services, claiming that shipowners were employing seafarers on rates below the minimum wage.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union RMT) , said: "It is a scandal that there is now an orchestrated attempt to undermine the viability and the future of the Isle of Man Steam Packet, putting more than 300 island jobs, plus many more that depend on the continuation of the service, on the block.
"The Steam Packet is a cornerstone of the Isle of Man economy with nearly 200 years of history and we are demanding that the island's House of Keys intervenes to secure the future of this vital freight and passenger link."
The 180-year-old Steam Packet is the longest continuously operating ferry company in the world, said the RMT, employing 350 permanent and a further 150 seasonal staff.
It operates services from Liverpool, Heysham and Birkenhead to Douglas.
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