STRIKE ACTION BY Irish Rail workers looks increasingly likely after talks around pay collapsed this evening between unions and management.

The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said that its members were “furious” at the State transport company’s “little or no regard” for workers through refusing to approve pay increases.

General secretary of the NBRU Dermot O’Leary said that “after a decade long pay hiatus, the expectation of a long overdue pay rise for Irish Rail staff has not materialised”.

Our members have looked at colleagues in the public transport sector enjoying pay increases of up to 3.75%, while Irish Rail is thumbing its nose at its own staff by making a pitiful offer.

He said that the NBRU was left with no choice but to begin balloting its members for industrial action, which could result ”in widespread travel chaos for commuters in the next number of weeks”.

Although Irish Rail workers haven’t taken industrial action this year over their own pay conditions, during the Bus Éireann strike some train drivers refused to pass the picket in solidarity with the bus drivers. This resulted in massive inconvenience for commuters, particularly those living in rural communities.

Read: Bus Éireann management and unions argue over new rosters in latest dispute

Read: Ryanair cancels 110 flights as French air-traffic controllers strike

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