A TRANSPORT strike is threatened if CIE fails to pay the latest national pay round of 2.5 per cent to its 10,700 employees.
The increase was due to manual workers from October 1st and is due to clerical staff from December 1st.
The CIE group of unions, which meets today, is expected to agree to ballot its members for strike action from early December. The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), which represents the majority of bus and locomotive drivers in CIE, yesterday decided to ballot its members.
It has set Friday December 6th for the first of a series of one day strikes if, as expected, the vote is in favour of industrial action.
The chairman of the CIE group of unions, Mr Tony Tobin, said yesterday the 2.5 per cent was due under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work "with no strings attached". The company has told the unions it wants to defer payment of the increase until March 31st and make it conditional on the unions agreeing a £44 million cost cutting viability plan by that date. Once the viability plan is agreed, there would be full retrospection.
Talks last Tuesday to resolve differences at the Labour Relations Commission failed. The CIE group of unions has asked the Labour Court to intervene and it is expected to hear the case on November 20th.
However there is growing impatience among CIE employees at the refusal of the company to pay the 2.5 per cent.
Mr Tobin said members were "absolutely enraged" that the unions had been prepared to even discuss deferral of the pay rise with the company.
"Our members agreed to defer a pay rise once before, during the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, but never again."
There was no question of trying to impose conditions on what was supposed to be a cost of living increase due under the PCW, he added
The NBRU, which has already decided to ballot its members, is not a member of the CIE group of unions. Its general secretary, Mr Peter Bunting, says he expects an overwhelming majority in favour of industrial action.
The result of the ballot will be known next Wednesday, the same day as the Labour Court hearing into the dispute. The company will then be notified that the first one day stoppage will take place on December 6th. All public transport services will be affected Iarnrod Eireann, Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus.
Mr Bunting says his union is prepared to discuss a deferral but the company could not renege on its three year old commitment to pay the increase with no conditions attached. He could not understand why the ICTU was prepared to discuss a successor to the PCW when one of the largest State companies was not prepared to honour the existing agreement.
The ballot of workers in the CIE group of unions will be concluded on Friday, November 29th. If it is in favour of industrial action, there would still be time for the group to serve strike notice and synchronise any stoppage on December 6th with the NBRU.