The National Bus and Railworkers Union says it does not want the Tranpsort Minister Shane Ross to intervene in the rail strike.

Thousands of rail users could be hit with strikes as soon as the October bank holiday weekend after talks on pay increases for Irish Rail staff broke down at the Workplace Relations Commission last night.

Unions at Irish Rail have warned a failure by management to offer a sufficient pay rise without pre-conditions today will trigger a ballot for strike action.

LATEST: Talks between unions and management to avoid strike action at Bus Éireann have adjourned for the day.

Update 8.23pmpm: Bus Éireann says that changes are urgently required to address the company's financial situation.

Aer Lingus has defended its decision not to up its €110m funding for a staff pension scheme saying it was never required to deliver 100% coordinated coverage.

FORTY workers at Bord na Móna have been suspended over an unofficial dispute at a power station.

Forty workers at Bord na Mona were suspended today over an unofficial dispute at a power station.

Bord na Móna and trade union representatives at two midlands power stations say claims that 500 jobs could be under threat are "alarmist".

THE Government’s policy of compelling employees in semi-state agencies to decentralise has failed, SIPTU claimed yesterday.

UNION members at State training agency FÁS called off industrial action last night after voting to accept proposals aimed at ending their dispute over decentralisation.

The end of industrial action at FÁS over decentralisation could be in sight, it emerged today.

DISGRUNTLED staff at FÁS will escalate their protests, if promotions continue to be tied to decentralisation, union officials warned last night.

SENIOR trade union officials have drawn up battle plans in the FÁS decentralisation dispute that could impact the Government’s entire €1 billion public sector relocation programme.

Hundreds of FAS workers have begun a work-stoppage this morning, after talks between management and SIPTU broke down at the Labour Relations Commission last night.

IMPENDING industrial action by employees of the state agency FÁS over “promotional blackmail” could derail the Government’s controversial decentralisation programme, union sources said last night.

Workers at the head office of the state training agency are being blackmailed into agreeing to Government plans for decentralisation, it was claimed tonight.