Industrial action by SIPTU and NBRU train drivers at Iarnród Éireann may proceed next week following the breakdown of talks on pay and productivity proposals at the Workplace Relations Commission earlier this morning.
The rail company said negotiations with the unions, which have been taking place all week, ended without agreement shortly after 2am this morning.
If the planned strike action proceeds next Friday, 23 October and on Friday 6 November, no DART, Commuter or Intercity train services will operate between 6am and 9am on those days, with the aftermath of the strike affecting the transport systems afterwards also.
Iarnród Éireann said it was willing to implement proposals which had been tabled that would have seen phased productivity measures introduced and implemented in tandem with an earnings increase for drivers, however it said the trade unions did not agree to the proposals and were seeking an earnings increase without productivity being implemented.
The NBRU stated that talks broke down because of what it described as a failure on the company’s part to engage on the issue of past productivity or past contributions of train drivers.
NBRU General Secretary Dermot O’Leary said the company’s proposals involved a coupling of this issue with future productivity measures.
Mr O’Leary also said the company have now made it difficult for a resolution to be found to the dispute at this late stage.
He said the NBRU will take part in further talks if the Workplace Relations Commission requests it, but he said both their and the company’s agenda need to be addressed at the same time.
Iarnród Éireann urged the trade unions to withdraw the threat of industrial action and re-engage with management under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission.