Iarnrod Eireann refuses to recognise the Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association's claim that it is entitled to negotiate on behalf of its members, despite an announcement by the train drivers' body that it is now a registered trade union
The ILDA, which was established almost a year ago and has 120 members, has requested a meeting with Iarnrod Eireann, on foot of this, it told a press conference yesterday. A spokesman for the company, however, described the ILDA's announcement as a `stunt'.
One in every three train drivers is a member of the ILDA whose on-going row with the company has led to the serious disruption of rail services on a number of occasions.
Iarnrod Eireann insists that the association is not a "union in the proper sense": The group had merely received a certificate from the Registrar of Friendly Societies which acknowledged that it had registered as a trade union. But the ILDA did not hold a negotiating licence, a legal prerequisite for operating as a trade union in this country.
To obtain such a licence under the current law, a body required a minimum of 1,000 members over an 18-month period, and the ILDA did not meet those criteria, the company stipulated. Nor could it ever meet them, it said.
"Iarnrod Eireann will continue to negotiate with authorised and recognised trade unions only. For the locomotive drivers, the company negotiates with SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union."
The company also claimed that it had received a letter from the ILDA's legal advisers in which they had acknowledged that they did not "qualify for the immunity provided for trade unions" under current Irish industrial relations legislation.
Proposals for radical changes in the working conditions of drivers, including a shorter working week and shorter hours are to be balloted on shortly by the company's train drivers.