Commuters face months of Luas strikes in pay row

The near 100% rejection by Luas workers of pay hikes of up to 18.7% could cripple services with strikes for weeks if not months, said informed sources.

Travel plans of thousands of people travelling into Dublin city centre for 1916 centenary commemorations will be disrupted by the 48- hour stoppage over Easter Sunday and Monday.

However, with worker union Siptu referencing a complete breakdown in the relationship between the sides, and the Luas operator Transdev describing the wage increases it agreed to following marathon talks at the Workplace Relations Commission last week as “the very outer limits of what we could afford”, there seems little room for negotiations to end the impasse.

Therefore, a 48-hour strike on April 2 and 3 is unlikely to be averted, a further two-day stoppage on April 23 and 24 is also a real possibility, and further action yet to be announced may well follow.

Following the near total rejection of the terms — just two of 167 drivers — voted in favour, Siptu divisional organiser Owen Reidy said: “It seems quite clear that there is a complete breakdown in the relationship and trust between the driver grade and management at the company.”

He said among the feedback from members as to why they had rejected the proposals included that they did not want to accept a new pay scale that left new entrants on lower pay than current staff; and drivers felt the productivity sought in the proposal was “disproportionate and vague”.

“We accept the democratic decision of our members,” he said. “We have always stated that notified industrial action will proceed unless an agreement is reached and that remains the case. We do remain available for discussions with the employer.”

Transdev said it was shocked and disappointed at the rejection. It said it had entered into the talks at the WRC in good faith “and while the WRC proposal is challenging for the company we were 100% committed to supporting it”. It said the proposal would have meant a driver on €42,247 would have seen an increase in salary to €50,000 by January 2019 plus a bonus of €3,250 to an overall salary level of € 53,250.

Gerry Madden, managing director, Transdev, said: “The Workplace Relations Commission Proposal was at the very outer limits of what we could afford and for this to be rejected is deeply disappointing. In accordance with the terms of the WRC document that proposal is now withdrawn.”

He added: “This decision has serious implications for the company and our staff and we will reflect over the weekend and issue a considered response. In the meantime the union representatives need to answer why they think it’s acceptable to strike over the Easter weekend and it is still open to them to call it off.”

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the WRC increases were far in excess of what many other employers could afford, “so it is difficult to understand the Luas workers’ rejection”.