More strikes threatened

TRANSPORT workers have threatened to embark on a new series of strikes in protest over Government plans to break up CIE.

The travel plans of thousands of commuters were disrupted yesterday as bus and rail services came to a halt due to a four-hour work stoppage by unions.

But National Bus and Rail Workers’ Union (NBRU) chief Liam Tobin warned that yesterday’s action would be just the start unless Transport Minister Seamus Brennan consulted unions over his plans.

While yesterday’s protest ran from 11am until 3pm, the knock-on effects of the stoppages meant rail and bus services were disrupted well into the evening.

Thousands of transport workers staged protests in cities nationwidearound the country, where they handed letters of protest to Fianna Fáil junior ministers calling for an end to plans to privatise the sector.

There were signs of dissent within Government circles, however, as junior minister Willie O’Dea said that he did not support the wholesale

privatisation of bus and rail services.

His comments came as 400 transport workers were engaged in a protest outside his Limerick constituency office. Mr O’Dea, who gave union officials a signed pre-election pledge that he would not support any proposal to privatise public transport, said that he would pass union officials concerns’ onto Mr Brennan.

“I personally believe that privatisation is not necessarily the panacea to solving the problems in public transport and the matter will be fully debated by the Fianna Fáil party,” said the junior minister.

Mr Brennan, meanwhile, has said that his door is open and he is willing to discuss his plans to break up CIE with the unions at any time.

He plans to dissolve the CIE structure and to introduce competition among the three State transport providers, Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus and to allow competition on 25% of bus routes.

The NBRU and SIPTU, however, claim they are being kept in the dark over the plans and say the minister is embarking on the privatisation of State transport through the back door.

Unions apologised for yesterday’s transport disruption but said that they felt they had no other choice.

Dominic Moloney, spokesman for Irish Rail workers in Limerick, said:

“We never wanted to protest or to inconvenience the travelling public or the people of Limerick.

“But we feel that our backs are to the wall and we are left with no other option but to show this government that enough is enough,” said Mr Moloney.

Opposition parties said the Government’s strategy was wrong and called on both sides to enter into talks to resolve the issue.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Denis Naughten questioned how rural bus routes could survive if Mr Brennan was prepared to privatise some of the most lucrative bus routes in the capital.

Labour’s Roisín Shorthall called on Mr Brennan and the unions to come together to discuss proposals on how

a more efficient public transport system could be produced and maintained.