About 80 members of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union have threatened to resign from the union if it presses ahead with plans to accept the affiliation of the Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association, reports Padraig Yeates, Industry and Employment Correspondent.
The members are coachbuilders with Iarnrod Eireann and their defection would almost cancel out the 112 members from the ILDA. There are also reports that ATGWU members in Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus may defect.
The Irish secretary of the ATGWU, Mr Mick O'Reilly, last night confirmed the complaints from members and said these would be discussed again at a branch meeting next Tuesday. He was optimistic the issues raised could be dealt with.
He said he has written to the Labour Court notifying it of the union's interest in representing train drivers in the review of industrial relations at Iarnrod Eireann.
The company confirmed yesterday that it had begun to receive representations from the new ILDA-ATGWU branch and expected the ATGWU to seek formal recognition within days.