TENS of thousands of people heading home to Ireland this Christmas could face major travel disruption.
Talks to avert strike action by Irish rail workers failed to reach agreement last night as trade unions at Iarnród Éireann voted in favour of industrial action.
In a dispute over pay, 84 per cent of SIPTU’s 1,900 members, voted in favour of striking.
It’s believed an agreement on a pay deal had been close but collapsed after 12 hours of talks between SIPTU, NBRU (National Bus and Rail Union) and Irish Rail.
“Irish Rail senior management have once again demonstrated their total disdain for their own staff and those that rely on Irish Rail services,” SIPTU said in a statement.
“We have spent the last 12 hours engaging in what we understood to be last ditch efforts to produce a proposal on pay which could be presented to our members, and in so doing stave off what we consider to be unnecessary industrial action.
“Such action will discommode tens of thousands of commuters over the coming weeks, in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.”
The trade union said it would announce details of strike action across Ireland’s rail network in the coming weeks, with the October Halloween bank holiday weekend likely to be affected.
NBRU General Secretary Dermot O’Leary said their members were looking for a ‘long overdue and well-deserved pay rise’.
He added: “It is only a short few days since front-line workers at Irish Rail were being lauded by the Company hierarchy for their efforts towards getting vital economic and social rail services up and running in a matter of hours following Hurricane Ophelia.
"Those same workers are now seeking management to come to the table with a mandate to negotiate tangible pay improvements.”
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