Luas dispute ends as drivers vote to accept pay deal

The long-running Luas dispute has ended after workers and the company that operates the service agreed to accept a Labour Court recommendation that includes wage increases of up to 18.3 per cent.

The four month industrial relations row has led to 12 days of all-out strike action by workers – but further strikes planned for next week were averted when an agreement was struck last night.

Siptu said the Luas drivers, who voted to accept the recommendation by 108 votes to 56, had “shown what workers can achieve if they maintain unity”.

Transdev, which operates the Luas, said it had given “careful consideration” to the proposal, and would accept it despite it being “financially very challenging” for the company.

As part of the deal, drivers will receive wage increases between 15.6 per cent and 18.3 per cent up to September 2020, as well as an upfront payment of €750. The pay rise involves increases ranging from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent per year for the next four years.

It will bring total earnings at the top of the scale from €42,247 to €49,972 by September 2020, and €53,220 when a 6.5 per cent bonus is included.

Transdev will shelve a plan to increase the length of shifts, and it will restore pay docked from drivers during the dispute. They will not however get back a 6.5 per cent bonus they lost, but it will return next year.

Drivers have agreed to cooperate with the extension of the Luas service to Broombridge, while a starting salary for new recruits that is 10 per cent lower than colleagues for the first three years will remain. This will be reviewed in 18 months.

Transdev managing director Gerry Madden said there were “no winners” in the dispute. “The agreement will allow all of us to concentrate on once again delivering the very best Luas service for our customers,” he said.

“As we said at the very start, there are no winners in a dispute of this nature. Customers lost their vital service, staff lost wages, and now honouring this settlement will be financially very challenging for Transdev.

Mr Madden said the company was “very mindful” that a critical next step will be to rebuild working relationships between staff and the company. “We will address this as an immediate business priority both for our staff and customers alike,” he added.

Siptu divisional organiser Owen Reidy said the recommendation dealt with many of the issues raised by workers. “Over recent days, all Siptu members employed as Luas drivers were given an opportunity to discuss and debate this,” he said.

“The workers recognise that this recommendation deals with the reduction of the terms and conditions of new entrants to the Luas driver grade by committing the company to a comprehensive review of this issue within the next 18 months.

“The proposal commits this review to take into account related developments in the public sector. The recommendation also provides new entrants with a quicker pay acceleration process than had been previously proposed.”

He added that workers had displayed “great resilience” in pursuing a “significant improvement” in their conditions of employment.