Second day of train strike set to affect 100,000 people

Thousands of rail passengers will have their travel plans disrupted again today as staff at Iarnród Éireann engage in a second day of strike action in protest at the unilateral introduction of temporary pay cuts by management.

Pickets were placed at train stations and depots around the country yesterday over the pay reductions, which are scheduled to run for 28 months. The strike affected about 60,000 passengers yesterday and will impact on another 100,000 today.

It is understood that no third-party intervention aimed at averting the dispute is imminent. Further work stoppages are planned by members of the National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) and Siptu for three days in September.

The national executive of the NBRU is also due to meet on September 23rd, and an intensification of the industrial action could be considered if no resolution is reached in the meantime.

Ministerial intervention

Minister for Transport

Paschal Donohoe

has declined to intervene personally. He said last week the State’s industrial relations machinery was monitoring the situation and would engage “at the appropriate time”. Mr Donohoe did not comment yesterday.

However, Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell described the strike as a "futile exercise" and accused Iarnród Éireann staff of hurting the public as well as their own cause.

The Dublin South TD, a former transport spokeswoman for her party, said: “The reality is the company doesn’t have the money. Payroll is such a high percentage. There’s no way they can save money without looking at payroll.

“Having strikes like this only lessens the chance of them getting back to full pay. They are hurting the public but they are also hurting their own prospects of ever getting back to full pay.

“It’s a futile exercise when there is no other solution, and a solution is not going to come from the taxpayer.”

Mr Donohoe has said the State subsidy to Iarnród Éireann – which has been reduced by more than €70 million in recent years – would not be reduced further in 2015.

Unilateral cuts

Iarnród Éireann said it had no choice but to implement the cuts unilaterally after talks over the past 20 months had failed to produce an agreement. It said it faced running out of money by the middle of next year.

Fianna Fáil spokesman on transport Timmy Dooley said if the Government wanted co-operation from staff it would have to spell out its long-term vision for public transport and the rail service.

Ibec chief economist Fergal O’Brien said the improvement in the economy meant the Government needed to play a role in managing expectations, and one way to do this would be for it to ease the pressure on workers’ take-home pay.