The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) has offered to chair talks on the future of CIÉ as early as this weekend, but hopes are fading that a resolution can be found to halt Monday's transport stoppage.
Mr Kieran Mulvey, chief executive of the LRC, this afternoon confirmed he had appointed Mr Kevin Foley, a senior industrial relations officer with the body, to chair talks between the unions and the Department of Transport.
Transport users face disruption between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday when the National Bus and Railworkers' Union's 4,000 members protest at the perceived lack of progress in the talks process. The action will affect provincial trains and buses as well as the DART and Dublin Bus.
The four-hour stoppage, and the NBRU's planned one-day strike on Monday, February 23rd, will shut down the State's bus and rail network.
SIPTU's strike committee met this afternoon and following a four-hour meeting it decided to back Monday's action.
The National Industrial Secretary, Mr Micheal Halpenny, said the union understood the frustration that has built up among the CIÉ workforce.
Mr Mulvey told ireland.comhe believed one of the NBRU's "fundamental reasons" for pressing ahead with the action was now gone, given the appointment of the LRC chairman. He said the LRC would chair talks over the weekend if the unions were agreeable. He has also urged all parties to the dispute to "stand back from any precipitative action" and to work constructively together in the talks process.
SIPTU is the largest CIÉ workers' union and, along with the NBRU, has been in talks with the Department of Transport over the proposed break-up of CIÉ . Last month SIPTU said that unless the talks proved "meaningful" it would stage industrial action on March 18th.
Yesterday's announcement by the NBRU took SIPTU by surprise and now it must decide whether to support colleagues in the other union. The strike committee is set to meet at 1 p.m. Sources close to the talks said they believe SIPTU will "reluctantly" support the NBRU's action and that the smaller union was "not for turning" on the issue.
The NBRU is angry at public comments by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, that he intends to proceed with the break-up of CIÉ and the privatisation of some routes. It has accused the Minister of undermining the talks process between the unions and his own department through such public statements. But Mr Brennan has maintained he has a right to comment on policy issues.
NBRU General Secretary, Mr Liam Tobin, said the action was taking place because the union was being "treated like dirt" by Mr Brennan. "We couldn't allow this to go on," he said, "the anger of our members was increasing on a daily basis.
"We entered this process in good faith but we now understand that the independent chairperson proposed by the unions for the talks has not even been approached by the department. We cannot continue to allow our members to be treated in this appalling fashion," he added.