Both sides back at the table…
Talks between Irish Rail unions and management are set to take place in the Labour Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Labour Court intervened following two 24-hour strikes in a week by Irish Rail workers.
Talks between the two parties are due to take place on Thursday morning in a bid to end the industrial dispute that that has seen hundreds of thousands of rail users disrupted due to the strikes.
SIPTU Transport Division Organiser, Greg Ennis, said: “SIPTU representatives have been invited by the Labour Court to attend a full hearing tomorrow morning with regard to the ongoing Irish Rail dispute. We have confirmed that SIPTU representatives will attend the hearing with a view to achieving an acceptable resolution of the pay dispute.”
General Secretary of the National Rail and Bus Union Dermot O’Leary said: “Whilst accepting that the Labour Courts invitation is a potential step forward in attempting to resolve this debilitating and unnecessary dispute, it should be borne in mind that the intransigence displayed by Irish Rail Management, led it should be said by the CEO, together with tacit support from the Department of Transport, will make an overall resolution to this dispute more difficult than it might otherwise have been, had the Company (over recent weeks), acted in an appropriate manner, with both its own Staff and the State’s third party industrial relations institutions.”
Irish Rail workers are seeking a pay rise of 3.75% without a provision for increased productivity.
At the moment, further industrial action by unions is planned on the following dates:
- Tuesday, November 14 (includes Ireland v Denmark World Cup Play-off at Lansdowne Road)
- Thursday, November 23
- Friday, December 8
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