The Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association (ILDA) is to hold an emergency general meeting on March 7th to decide its attitude towards a new pay package that will eliminate overtime but increase guaranteed earnings by up to 100 per cent. The ILDA executive decided after day-long discussions in Dublin yesterday to call the meeting because of the "grave difficulties" presented by the agreement.
Afterwards the chairman of ILDA, Mr Brendan Ogle, said the proposals raised difficulties in a number of areas. The first was health and safety. Iarnrod Eireann was seeking a maximum working day of 10 hours, as opposed to the current nine hours. The company also wanted to increase the daily mileage travelled from 360 miles to 420.
"These pose serious problems", Mr Ogle said. "We are also concerned at plans to reduce the training period for drivers from 72 hours to 48 hours, especially in the light of the IRMS (International Risk Management Safety) report for the Minister on safety standards."
The company's proposal to widen access to train driving jobs suggested that more, rather than less training was needed, he added. The committee was concerned at the safety implications of a proposal to set up a group of "contingency drivers". These could be transferred from their regular jobs to drive trains in emergencies.
On the pay front, pensions were a major concern. Under the new pay proposals, which consolidate overtime with basic pay in return for more flexible working, only a fraction of the extra earnings would be factored into pension entitlements.
The ILDA is not recognised by the company or the trade unions in Iarnrod Eireann. It emerged out of a cross-union grouping of train drivers alienated by the 1994 pay and productivity agreement. Its 118 members constitute a third of the company's diesel drivers.
The pay package has still to be considered by SIPTU and the NBRU, the unions involved in negotiations with the company.