Rail workers want pay hike

Unions at Irish Rail have warned a failure by management to offer a sufficient pay rise without pre-conditions today will trigger a ballot for strike action.

Sources close to the talks at the Workplace Relations Commission have said that the likelihood of a pay offer sufficient to avert crippling stoppages is remote.

The expectation is that any offer will have to be in excess of 2.5% annually for unions to even consider putting it to members. The unions have been pushing hard for 3.75% annually, on a par with the amounts given to Dublin Bus and Luas workers last year on the back of strike action.