Train-drivers seeking a £7,000a-year pay rise in restructuring talks with Iarnrod Eireann will take industrial action at the end of June if a satisfactory conclusion is not reached by then.
The National Locomotive Drivers' Group reached this decision at a meeting in Dublin on Sunday. The cross-union group has no official status but contains leading activists from SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union, some of whom are on the negotiating team with Iarnrod Eireann.
Action would affect all rail activity, including DART and suburban services.
The group was seeking a £4,000 pay rise for radical changes in work practices sought by Iarnrod Eireann. These include significant cuts in working hours to comply with EU rules, leading to a serious loss of earnings.
The average earnings of drivers in 1996 was £26,000. The group was seeking new salaries of £30,000 based on consolidating existing shift rates and other premiums into a basic wage.
But average earnings were more than £28,000 last year and the group is now seeking a £7,000 rise, bringing pay rates to £35,000. The weekend decision to set a June 28th deadline for concluding talks was made after hearing the existing deadline of May 19th is to be deferred again.
A spokesman for the group, Mr Brendan Ogle, said the group would not decide until it met on June 28th what form of industrial action it would take. Much would depend on what progress was made by then.