Summer of discontent predicted for rail passengers

Rail passengers have been warned to expect a “summer of discontent” after the row between Irish Rail and its unions over pay escalated.

Yesterday morning, Irish Rail issued a statement saying plans for a 10-minute Dart service had been postponed due to “trade union intransigence”.

It said Siptu and the National Bus and Rail Union “have refused to engage on normal timetable changes in response to changes in demand, and walked out of Workplace Relations Commission discussions on the issue”.

“In doing so, the trade unions have used the requirements of our customers as a bargaining chip in pursuit of completely separate issues, citing productivity despite the company training additional drivers to deliver the service; and seeking pay increases of up to 25%,” it said.

The company also said the unions had damaged the interests of drivers, as the extra drivers who had been trained to allow the service to expand would reduce the need for additional hours from drivers within the existing schedule.

It is believed that, in a letter to staff representatives, the company said in 2016 it had assumed €1.4m in income from the 10-minute Dart service and that it would be compensating for that loss through further cost savings.

In its public statement, Irish Rail said in lieu of the expanded frequency, it would increase train size on a range of peak Dart services to address growth in passenger numbers.

Shortly after the statement emerged, the National Bus and Rail Union said the laying of blame by the firm on drivers was “disingenuous in the extreme”.

It accused Irish Rail of “peddling untruths” in relation to the availability of newly trained drivers and said this was designed to deflect from the fact that management did not engage in advance planning with staff. Siptu said to run the 10-minute service, it would require at least 20 additional drivers and those would not be in place until June.

NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary said: “We have written to the company this morning advising them that in the absence of real dialogue on pay we will be left with no alternative but to accede to the clamour from our members to ballot for industrial action, leading to the inevitably of a summer of discontent across our railways.”

Siptu organiser, Paul Cullen, said in talks with the Workplace Relations Commission the company had not made any positive response in relation to the measures necessary to implement the increased Dart service. “It has also been made clear by our members that no extra duties will be taken on until progress has been made in relation to productivity issues and an outstanding pay claim,” he said.