Transport chaos looms as airport union votes to join strike

Ireland faces an all-out transport strike next Thursday after Aer Rianta staff today voted to join CIÉ workers in protest at the Minister for Transport's plan to break up the companies.

SIPTU staff at Dublin, Shannon and Cork Airports will hold a six-hour work stoppage from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m, on March 18th, it was confirmed this afternoon. Limited stoppages are also planned at the airports for April 2nd, 20th and 26th.

Workers are protesting at what they say is Minister for Transport Mr Brennan's  refusal to engage in meaningful talks on the break-up and future of Aer Rianta.

Yesterday SIPTU announced it was staging a 24-hour work stoppage hitting bus and rail services across the state on March 18th. This strike is in protest at the pace of talks on the future of CIÉ.

The two strike actions will cause major disruption to those travelling to and from and around Ireland for St Patrick's Day and to delegates attending an EU presidency meeting in Dublin.

SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Michael Halpenny, said the action was aimed at disrupting the EU Presidency programme and not at "inconveniencing the ordinary members of the travelling public".

Earlier today Minister Brennan called on CIÉ union leaders to reconsider their planned  strike action, saying there was no need for the action.

A spokeswoman for the Minister said there was "no justification" for the strike.

Mneawhile the Minister and SIPTU were urged to renew talks in an effort to avert the planned stoppages.

The Labour Party's spokeswoman on transport, Ms Roisín Shortall, said today the "exasperation of the bus and rail workers is understandable given Minister Brennan's unique way of conducting negotiations.

"However, in the meantime both the Minister and the unions owe it to those who depend on public transport to make every possible effort to avert this strike," she added.

Business group ISME also condemned the planned action by SIPTU. Chief Executive Mr Mark Fielding described the decision as "ludicrous" and "an affront to the public and business community, who are once again at the mercy of the bully-boy tactics of the trade union movement.

"The timing, the day after St Patrick's Day, has obviously been scheduled to cause as much embarrassment as possible to the Government, at a time when many foreign guests will be in the country," he added.

He called on the management of SIPTU to stop playing "silly games" and to "immediately disengage" from strike action.

SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Michael Halpenny, said yesterday the action was "in protest at the lack of meaningful progress made between the Minister for Transport and the unions in current talks on the future of public transport and security of employment for transport workers".

"The strike committee believe the talks also lack credibility because of the Minister's statement to the Fianna Fáil ardfheis at the weekend in which he stated he was still wedded to his original view that franchising was the way to open up the bus market to competition."

SIPTU had previously deferred industrial action at the Minister's invitation to enter talks "to consider alternatives to franchising".