Rail users face strike chaos on bank holiday weekend

Thousands of rail users could be hit with strikes as soon as the October bank holiday weekend after talks on pay increases for Irish Rail staff broke down at the Workplace Relations Commission last night.

Unions, including the two main driver unions, the National Bus and Rail Union and Siptu, went into the talks seeking a 3.75% pay increase without any associated productivity measures. They said that in and around that figure had been achieved for Dublin Bus workers.

It is understood they were offered 1.5% accompanied by 19 different measures, including outsourcing of work, loss of contracted hours, relocation of staff, closure of booking offices, and new performance management systems.