UNIONS AT IRISH Rail have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in a pay dispute.

95% of NBRU drivers voted for the action, while 92% of SIPTU members voted in favour.

They say it’s in response to Irish Rail’s failure to recognise their contribution over the last number of years.

The two unions will meet on Thursday to decide what form the action will take.

General Secretary of National Bus and Rail Union Dermot O’Leary said:

“The LRC agreement is quite clear with regard to discussing past productivity; we have never encountered a situation where the company have simply said they are not going to honour our agreement and are unwilling to engage. We will now meet with our SIPTU colleagues on Thursday to discuss our members mandate. It is unfortunate that this unprecedented decision by the company will inevitably result in service disruption.”

Management at Irish Rail said the the ballot for industrial action was unnecessary as it remains available to engage with drivers’ representatives to discuss productivity.

In a statement released this afternoon, Irish Rail said “dialogue is essential to identify verifiable cost savings through defined productivity measures”, adding:

Any other course of action would renew the threat to the future viability of Iarnród Éireann, job security for all employees, and the services we provide to our customers, in a situation where we continue to incur losses in excess of €1 million per month.

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