Transport workers to strike over CIE break-up plans

Transport users across the country face huge disruption on Monday after the National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) announced strike action.

The union is to stage a four-hour "day of protest" this Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will stage a one-day strike the following Monday, February 23rd. The action will affect provincial train and bus services as well as the operation of the DART and Dublin Bus.

Mr Liam Tobin of the NBRU, which represents more than 4,000 transport workers, told ireland.comthe action was being taken because the union was being "treated like dirt" by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan.

Transport unions have been engaged in protracted talks with Mr Brennan on his plans to break up CIE. Mr Tobin said Mr Brennan had failed to make progress on the appointment of a chairman in the talks process and to set dates for meetings.

"We couldn't allow this to go on," he said, "the anger of our members was increasing on a daily basis."

"We entered this process in good faith but we now understand that the independent chair person proposed by the unions for the talks has not even been approached by the department. We cannot continue to allow our members to be treated in this appalling fashion," he added.

SIPTU, the largest CIE workers union, said its strike committee will hold a meeting tomorrow afternoon to consider its next move in light of today's NBRU announcement.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said simply there had "ongoing contact between the Department and the trade unions with regard to the terms of reference of an independent chairman and who that chairman might be" and that the talks would continue.

The action is likely to completely shut down the transport system if other unions join the action.

Unions are opposed to plans by Mr Brennan to dismantle CIÉ and privatise some routes currently operated by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann.

SIPTU, which has also been engaged in the talks process, said last month that unless the talks proved "meaningful" it would stage industrial action on March 18th.