Siptu to ballot its members on Irish Rail cuts

Despite a fellow driver union withdrawing from talks on cost savings at Iarnród Éireann over the weekend, Siptu has decided to ballot its members on the proposals which emerged from last week’s engagement.

For a number of months Iarnród Éireann management has been trying to secure agreement on €4.7m in cuts to the staff wage bill as part of €8.5m in overall savings which, it says, are essential for its financial solvency as well as for the protection of customer services and the security of its workforce’s employment.

After talks last week, another driver union, the National Bus and Rail Union, withdrew from the process and announced it would ballot for strikes if the cuts were unilaterally imposed.