The National Locomotive Drivers Committee says it will press ahead with its day of action on Sunday, despite a warning from the Labour Relations Commission that it will suspend restructuring negotiations for all Iarnrod Eireann employees if train services are disrupted.
SIPTU has called on its members to work normally on Sunday. The other main train drivers' union, the National Bus and Rail Union, said it would be "an absolute tragedy" if the negotiations were suspended "because of the actions of an unofficial group with another agenda".
The secretary of the NLDC, Mr Finbar Masterson, refused yesterday afternoon to contemplate a last-minute meeting of his group to reconsider its position. Asked if the action would not have the opposite effect to that intended and delay talks on the Iarnrod Eireann viability plan, he said he did not think so.
"The talks have been going on for two years but haven't produced any tangible result", he said. E that the patience of engine drivers "had run out".
It remains to be seen whose advice train drivers will follow. The NLDC appears confident it can seriously disrupt Inter-City services but admits it is uncertain of support among DART drivers. A spokesman for the company, Mr Barry Kenny, felt confident that DART services "would be close to normal" on Sunday. He said "everybody will lose out if the disruption goes ahead - the drivers, the company, the negotiating process and, most important of all, the customers".
The warning from the LRC that all negotiations in Iarnrod Eireann would be suspended if Sunday services were disrupted was relayed to SIPTU and NBRU negotiators at a three-hour meeting yesterday. The meeting was addressed by the deputy director of conciliation services at the LRC, Mr Tom Pomphrett. Mr Kevin Foley, the senior industrial relations officer who has been chairing the Iarnrod Eireann negotiations, also attended.
Mr Pomphrett asked all the union negotiators present, including Mr Ogle, not to allow the action to take place. He said the proposed schedule of intensive talks to consider train drivers' issues, from August 17th to August 21st, still stood. If train services were disrupted all meetings involving Iarnrod Eireann would be suspended indefinitely. Later the chief executive of the LRC, Mr Kieran Mulvey, appealed to the drivers not take action on Sunday. He promised "every effort" to bring negotiations on the od Eireann viability plan "to an early conclusion" if train services operated normally.
SIPTU's senior negotiator, Mr Tony Tobin, said the NLDC was an unofficial group trying to take over negotiations. "This is unacceptable to me and I'm not surprised at the position the LRC have taken."
SIPTU was calling on train drivers to work normally on Sunday for two reasons. First, to avoid serious inconvenience to the travelling public and secondly because it would be counterproductive and delay the talks scheduled for next month.
The NBRU assistant general secretary, Mr Liam Tobin, said the LRC had provided an opportunity to negotiate and agree a new working environment "which would give our members a quality lifestyle and a decent salary".