Unofficial rail strike leaves commuters stranded

ONE man’s dispute with Irish Rail sparked an unofficial strike yesterday leaving thousands of rail passengers stranded in Cork and Dublin.

Workers at Cork’s Kent Station walked off the job just after 2pm in support of a member of the company’s permanent way line inspection team. The National Bus and Rail Union member is a “core” member of the inspection team which negotiated an interim deal with the company last October to be prioritised for extra earning opportunities.

However, a non-core member was rostered to work the lucrative night shift last night sparking the unofficial action.