CIE chairman demands autonomy in key negotiations with unions

The chairman of CIE has called on the Government to state unequivocally that it will not interfere in the company's drive to conclude vital talks to implement viability plans.

Mr Brian Joyce said last night that over the past 12 months a major effort had been made by the trade unions and management of CIE companies to reach agreement on implementing major changes in work practices and cost saving measures, which will save the group £44 million. However, he said "to bring the process to a conclusion we need an unequivocal and unambivalent statement from our shareholder that they require us to implement the changes and that they will not be a party to the negotiation, conciliation and arbitration process". He said this statement "cannot have strings attached".

In a wide-ranging and sometimes hard-hitting address on CIE to the Chartered Institute of Transport in Ireland, Mr Joyce said the "authority and implementation process must be left within the management of the individual companies and the board.

"I believe that if this is clear and unequivocal, a satisfactory outcome will be achieved."

Mr Joyce said the history of negotiation and confrontation in the CIE group has been one of appeasement and compromise. "The reluctance of successive governments and departments to countenance a disruption to service was always a trump card," he said.

He said achieving the level of changes required in work practices and cost structures was no easy task. "It is reasonable to suggest that if there is a place of refuge the workforce will head for that sanctuary," he said.

Mr Joyce did not refer to any specific incidents or Ministers - in fact he was unstinting in his praise of current Public Enterprise Minister, Ms O'Rourke. However, it is understood that senior CIE executives were extremely angry when Ms O'Rourke intervened in a threatened strike at Bus Eireann over the planned introduction of new minibus routes in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Mr Joyce said last night that CIE would have to have discretion on pricing. It has had no general fare increases - which the Government must sanction - since 1991. "To run a business you have to have discretion," he said.

The chairman also said that fare increases must be index-linked. Over the next eight years, CIE would need to invest £1.2 billion to meet its capital requirements. This includes £844 million for Irish Rail's needs over the next eight years, including spending on the DART services; £191 million for Dublin Bus and £140 million for Bus Eireann.

Mr Joyce said CIE planned to fund £700 million of these costs, with the Government providing £315 million and £185 million coming from EU funds. However, he said the group needed certainty, including fares increases, otherwise there was no possibility it could meet these obligations.

Mr Joyce said the planned public service contracts, under which CIE will provide certain loss-making services under certain conditions, in return for a subvention, were almost complete. The 1998 subvention would be based on such contracts, he said.

Mr Joyce said "on balance" the management of CIE and its subsidiaries would welcome some private sector participation in its affairs "as it would bring a sharper commercial focus to our business and provide access to much needed investment funds". However, he stressed that privatisation was an issue for the shareholder.