New trains get green light after union backing

Unions at Irish rail are to recommend the introduction of the new high-tech trains that sparked this week's rail strike.

Unions at Irish rail are to recommend the introduction of the new high-tech trains that sparked this week's rail strike.

The Joint Siptu/NBRU National Locomotive Drivers Committee made the unanimous decision to back the introduction of the new Mark IV InterCity Trains, beginning May 22, after talks with management today. The trade unions plan to consult their members in the interval.

The strike began on Monday after two Cork-based drivers refused to operate a new high-tech train that the company had planned to bring into service on the Cork-Dublin route.

The action spread yesterday with drivers based in Athlone and Galway joining those in Dublin, Cork and Limerick who had stopped working on Monday in support of their two colleagues.

READ MORE

The drivers returned to work today after a deal was reached with Iarnród Éireann in the early hours of this morning. A deal was reached after 14 hours of talks. The intensive efforts to resolve the dispute, assisted by industrial relations consultant Phil Flynn, continued late last night and agreement was reached at 1am.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen made his opinion on the row clear earlier today.

"We are here to provide services for our citizens, for commuters, and they shouldn't be inconvenienced in the way that they were. It gives the  public service a bad name, one that we shouldn't be giving to it if we respect IR [industrial relations] machinery ," he said.  "I'm glad that there has been an intervention now to resolve the immediate problem, but we shouldn't see it repeated."

He said he hoped the social partnership discussions that currently taking place would be  successful, and that there would be clear commitments that the events of this week would not be repeated.

The unofficial action lead to severe disruption to services on Monday and yesterday. There were no trains between Heuston Station in Dublin and Cork, Galway or Westport, while only one train ran between Dublin and Limerick.

Only the Waterford service from Heuston was operating to a near-normal level.