Kevin Mulvey criticises planned Luas strike on St Patrick’s Day

Luas drivers’ plans to strike on St Patrick’s Day have been severely criticised by the head of the mediation body which will next week start looking for some common ground which could avert the action.

Kevin Mulvey, director general of the Workplace Relations Commission, said: “I am not enamoured at the idea of a gun being put to our heads in the context of negotiations particularly around St Patrick’s Day.

“St Patrick’s Day is our national holiday and it does not behove trade unionists of any kind or any description... to be involved in a national dispute on our national holiday involving a vital element of public transport in our city.”

He has invited both sides in the dispute over pay to meet separately with the commission next week.

“I will be saying to the unions that if this [a strike on St Patrick’s Day] is a hearts and minds operation, you are not going to win the hearts and minds of the public on this one.”

He also said he will be telling the operators of the Luas, Transdev, and Siptu which represents the drivers that “it is about time now people started getting real about this dispute and getting down to business about negotiating a settlement”.

Mr Mulvey, in an interview with RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, stopped short of openly criticising the workers’ claim for pay increases of 8% to 53%. However, he did say the claim was “unusual to be blunt and frank about it”.

“No one is winning, everybody is losing [through the strikes],” he said. “Workers have lost four days’ pay. The company has effectively lost revenue and incurred penalties and the 90,000 commuters, some of whom are struggling to get to work can’t get about their daily business. There is no win here.”

Owen Reidy of Siptu said his members would welcome the opportunity to enter exploratory talks at the commission next week. He said in relation to Mr Mulvey’s comments on the pay claim that the union had been saying the claim was ambitious and it was willing to enter negotiations on it.

On the commission chief’s comments on the plans for action on St Patrick’s Day, he said Mr Mulvey was entitled to his opinion.

Mr Reidy said there are two weeks until the next day of action on March 8 and he said it behoves everyone involved to seek a resolution before that day comes.

Meanwhile, Kieran Mulvey has rejected calls for Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe to intervene directly in the Luas dispute.

“That would leave the State open to litigation of an enormous level, that he was seen to interfere in what was a European procurement contract by, in any way, changing the nature of that contract. It is the role of the WRC to assist in resolving this dispute.”