Reality check - Drivers turned down a good offer

A SHUTDOWN of the Luas service in Dublin seems inevitable following the company’s decision to place staff on protective notice, threaten them with pay cuts to cover the costs of their industrial action, and offer them less than the deal drivers have already refused.

This escalation of the dispute by operators Transdev is regrettable and clearly does not help management’s case that the demands by Siptu drivers are unreasonable.

It is difficult to see how Transdev can sustain the reasonableness argument when they are acting provocatively and irresponsibly.

But, unlike the Luas track, it is not all a one-way street. The fact is that, even on current pay, a new Luas driver, after a few weeks’ training, earns more than a newly-employed nurse who will have undergone years of studying.

The original offer, worth up to 18% over 33 months, would have been seen as a triumph in many other industries.

Trade union Siptu and its Luas members need a reality check.