Members of Ireland's largest train drivers' union have voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest offer by Iarnrod Eireann.
At its conference at Horse and Jockey, Co Tipperary, over the weekend, the Irish Locomotive Drivers Association said it was considering legal action to prevent the offer from being implemented should Iarnrod Eireann decide to continue pressing on with it, despite an opt-out clause embodied in the proposal itself.
This clause states that should any depot seek to opt out of proposed arrangements, no agreement would be possible. Following an ILDA ballot last week on the proposals, Inchicore depot is categorised as an opting out depot.
ILDA members also rejected proposals that the other rail unions, SIPTU and the NBRU, should be able to vote to change conditions of employment for all drivers.
The conference ratified the rejection of the agreement reached beetween Iarnrod Eirean and SIPTU and the NRBU to change train drivers' working conditions.
A five-day working week and the right to have a pre-determined number of weekend days free were also the subject of major concerns expressed by the majority of ILDA members.
In its proposed package to restructure train drivers' working conditions, A New Deal For Locomotive Drivers, Iarnrod Eireann proposes to end premium payments for working on Sundays, and proposes ending the designation of bank holidays as special days.
The ILDA also amended its constitution, removing wording which enabled train drivers in Northern Ireland to become members.
On the first day of the two-day conference, members unanimously passed a proposal to pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court in its counter-claim to Iarnrod Eireann's failed action against the unions 11-strong executive council, pending legal advice and assessment of costs.