Union hopeful Brinks dispute can be ended

As a special hearing at the Labour Court began today with Brinks Allied management, union officials expressed hopes that the ongoing dispute could be resolved.

After talks at the Labour Relations Commission failed to produce agreement in the dispute over health and safety measures at the troubled cash-in-transit firm, SIPTU claimed both sides were agreed on the roots of the problem.

Security service branch secretary Kevin McMahon said: “Siptu are anxious that this dispute is resolved before it deteriorates further and threatens the jobs of our members.

“We hope the court issues a reconciliation that is acceptable for both parties. Both the company and the union are agreed that we need higher standards of security to protect staff and deter robberies.

“The problem has always been the approach of the problem rather than the goal.”

The court hearing, which could last up to three hours, is a last ditch attempt to avert an all-out stoppage by workers.

Ireland’s largest trade union SIPTU served notice on Brinks Allied, which refills over 200 ATMs in the Eastern region, that strike action would begin this Thursday.

With the dispute now in its third week, hundreds of non-bank branch service tills in and around Dublin have run dry.

The dispute centres on workers’ refusals to adopt new rules which include a "drive away" policy forcing security staff to abandon colleagues in the event of an attempted robbery.