The Steam Packet has insisted that it will be difficult for an ongoing dispute with a trade union to be resolved through an arbitration process.

The government-owned ferry company has been in long-term negotiations with the union Nautilus International, who represent a number of its staff, over the changing of employee’s terms and conditions.

The proposed changes to working conditions would see staff live on board its vessels for up to two weeks and work a watch system, as the company looks to adopt a permanent live onboard policy.

However, workers represented by maritime union Nautilus International have rejected the new terms, and despite two years of negotiations between the two parties, an agreement is still yet to be struck.

The Steam Packet recently submitted a final offer to the union, warning members they had 30-days to accept the new terms of risk their work contracts being terminated.

As part of the lengthy negotiations, the union requested an independent arbitration process where both parties would agree to support the outcome, but this was refused by the Steam Packet.

When asked about this refusal of an arbitration process, the managing director of the Steam Packet, Brian Thomson, said: ‘The reason for that is because Manx industrial relations do not have someone on the island who can carry out arbitration, so this process would be done by someone externally.

‘As a business, we cannot risk someone from the UK making these decisions. This is a massive industry on the island. It’s not just transport, as everything that comes to the island arrives through us.

‘We’re not sure an arbitrator from the UK would fully grasp the scale of that.’

In a statement released last week, a spokesperson for the union said: ‘Nautilus International has welcomed a clarification from the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS), who state that arbitration is available.’

Nautilus senior national organiser Garry Elliot said: ‘This is a welcome clarification from MIRS who have said an independent arbitrator can be arranged.

‘This should end any ambiguity on whether arbitration is available to Steam Packet Company to resolve this dispute.

‘We hope the Steam Packet Company will reassess their previous refusal and agree to engage in this reasonable process with an independent arbitrator.’

While any potential arbitration process would be undertaken by an independent arbitrator, it is still the case that this arbitrator would not be from the Isle of Man, which Mr Thomson claimed was the company’s main concern.

A spokesperson from MIRS said: ‘If necessary, MIRS can arrange for an independent arbitrator should the parties to a trade dispute (as defined by the Trade Disputes Act 1985), be unable to resolve their differences through negotiation or conciliation.

‘Arbitration relies on the mutual co-operation of all concerned, and the arbitrator always has be independent. These arbitrators are always sourced from the UK and they cannot be from or live in the Isle of Man.’

When asked about the possibility of arbitration, a spokesperson from the Steam Packet said: ‘Even if it was possible to get an arbitrator from the island who understood the company, the timeline is extremely difficult now as we’ve already set a deadline of January 1, 2024 as the beginning of a permanent live on board policy on our vessels.

‘It’s tough to renegotiate terms in such a short period of time.

‘The Steam Packet would be happy to engage in arbitration that adjusted certain conditions, but the live on board policy is non-negotiable - Nautilus don’t seem to want to budge on that.’