ATM dispute - Real fears driving strike action

FEAR for their lives is the stark reason why SIPTU workers have rejected a formula aimed at ending a dispute which has left large numbers of ATM machines on the east coast without cash.

What began as an industrial relations row has now become a question of law and order with the safety of workers the central issue.

Inevitably, the two-to-one vote in a ballot on settlement proposals means thousands of people will continue to be denied access to the ATM service. In all, about 70 machines owned by AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank in non-branch locations on the east coast have been left without money because of the strike.