Luas staff warned of potential lay-offs if strikes continue

Luas staff face potential lay offs or short term working if strikes continue, the operator of the Dublin light rail service has warned.

Transdev also told workers it would not accept the "part performance" of employment contracts.

In what has been described by the trade union Siptu as an escalation of the current Luas dispute, management at Transdev also warned staff it would consider pursuing individual workers for losses it has incurred.

The company is also now expected to offer staff lower pay rises than those set out in proposals drawn up last month at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC)and which were overwhelmingly rejected by workers.

Siptu described the move by management at Transdev as “unprecedented” and an “escalation in the dispute”.

Siptu divisional organiser Owen Reidy said staff had attended a meeting with company management on Monday with a view to seeing if a new process to resolve the lengthy dispute could be found.

He said the management move in essence represented a threat that staff could ultimately face being locked out. He said this was unacceptable and workers would now look at an early ballot for an all-out strike at the light rail system.

A further eight strikes are scheduled to take place by staff at the company before the end of May as part of a current campaign by workers for improved terms and conditions.

Management at Transdev met with representatives of Siptu at lunchtime on Monday to discuss the on-going series of stoppages which have brought Dublin’s light rail system to a halt on several occasions over recent weeks.

Informed sources said that, at the meeting, staff representatives indicated they wanted the company to move beyond the increases proposed at the Workplace Relations Commission.

These would have seen some Luas drivers receive increases of up to 18 per cent over a three-year period, including a long service increment of about 7 per cent.

It is understood management indicated the Workplace Relations Commission offer was now off the table.

Instead, it is expected to offer a deal which would not include additional long service increments.

In a statement on Monday Transdev said it had met with Siptu with a view to exploring the basis for the union rejection of the WRC proposals, to share the financial challenges the company is facing and to outline to Siptu a revised pay proposal.

“This revised proposal takes account of the 5 days of industrial action since the WRC proposal was rejected and reflects the reduced financial resources available to the company.”

“Based on the meeting this afternoon it is apparent that there is no basis for any talks or other intervention in this dispute at this point. The Union’s expectations remain in excess of what was proposed at the WRC ( which in any event is withdrawn) and on that basis any discussions would have no prospect of success. In view of the additional 7.5 days of notified industrial action, the company took the opportunity to outline the serious consequences of this dispute continuing and undertook to write to Siptu and our employees setting out its position.”

Transdev had previously warned staff that if strike action continued, not only will it be unable to deal with claims for pay increases, but that it will have to initiate talks “to align our existing cost base with available resources”.

However, the staff argued that the the increases set out in the Workplace Relations Commission formula were insufficient, that corresponding productivity measures were too onerous and that plans for lower pay rates for new entrants were unacceptable.

Meanwhile, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the State body charged with delivering transport projects and services, has declined to meet Siptu to discuss the Luas dispute.

Siptu last week wrote to TII and argued that talks with it were “essential” as it was the State agency responsible for the operation of the contract for the Luas system.

Siptu said it wanted to engage with TII and appraise it directly “of our serious concerns regarding the future operation of the Luas with its ever-deteriorating industrial relations climate”.

However, TII chief executive Michael Nolan said it could not intervene in a dispute between Transdev and its employees.

“While you may believe that a meeting between us is essential, I do not. What is essential is for Siptu, the drivers, the traffic supervisors, the revenue protection officers and the revenue protection supervisors to meet their employer, Transdev, and agree a resolution of the on-going and increasingly protracted industrial unrest that is disrupting the Luas service to the public.”