Train drivers in Cork insisted yesterday they didn't "down tools" and go on strike but were instead forced into a situation where they couldn't carry out their duties because they weren't adequately trained to operate a new fleet of trains.
Iarnród Éireann had planned to bring the first of the new €117 million order of Intercity Mark 4 trains into service for trials on the Cork-Dublin route yesterday at 5.30am.
However, Ken Collins, a driver at Kent Station in Cork, said he and his colleagues refused to operate the train because they hadn't received adequate training on new procedures and a new safety regime.
"Iarnród Éireann decided to put on a Mark 4 train and our driver said he wasn't qualified to drive it," said Mr Collins. "We had one day's introductory training in Limerick. That is all we have had. Even the company agreed we needed more training. So we said we weren't prepared to drive the train. But we were willing to drive our regular trains. We asked to defer the introduction of the new train until a planned meeting tomorrow, but they flatly refused to do so."
Mr Collins, a train driver for 20 years, said his workmates were concerned about the lack of a code of practice on the new line. He said he couldn't understand how the company planned to operate a new service when drivers weren't up to speed on all aspects of safety and procedure. Issues surrounding guards and the maintenance team also needed to be discussed, he said.
Train drivers in Cork submitted a claim last autumn for increased pay and reduced working hours in return for driving the new fleet of trains.
However, the claim was rejected by the Labour Court in January who said the new working arrangements were allowed for in previous agreements. Negotiations are continuing on other issues relating to extra money for agreeing to more stringent monitoring of driver standards and for coaching trainee drivers.
Mr Collins said drivers in Cork were looking for a reduction in the working week, from 43.5 hours plus two contingency hours, to a 35-hour week.
He insisted the reduction in the working week wasn't anything out of the ordinary, saying his colleagues across the UK and Europe only worked about 30 hours a week.
Mr Collins described Iarnród Éireann's management style as being like something from another era, adding it was time for the company to reassess its attitude towards staff.
He accused the company of causing the dispute by not delaying the introduction of the new rolling stock until unions and management had ironed out their differences.
"The public only get to see Iarnród Éireann management style when something like this happens. It is all part of the old bureaucracy and, quite frankly, things need to change."
Mr Collins said staff were prepared to drive the regular Mark 3 trains, but that Iarnród Éireann refused to allow them to do so.
Meanwhile, Dermot O'Leary, of the National Bus and Rail Union, who oversees 54 train drivers in Cork, said Iarnród Éireann needed to take responsibility for yesterday's disruption. Mr O'Leary said it was important to note that a meeting had been planned for this morning between management/drivers and an independent facilitator. He said they had asked Iarnród Éireann on Sunday night to defer the introduction of the new Mark 4 line pending that meeting, a request which he described as "reasonable".
Iarnród Éireann insist that the drivers in Cork are capable of manning the new trains and say that other drivers elsewhere in the country have no problem with driving the new fleet.