The Labour Court is expected to begin an urgent hearing into the Iarnrod Eireann traffic signallers' dispute tomorrow. The company and its unions have jointly referred the case to the court following informal discussions yesterday.
Strike action by the company's 138 signallers left 40,000 mainline commuters stranded again yesterday. It is due to continue today, and to resume next Wednesday.
The action is in pursuit of higher basic wages in a new annualised hours agreement. Although the company improved its offer by £1,500 in late night talks on Tuesday in an attempt to avert the two-day stoppage, union leaders said this would leave some members £60 a week worse off.
The action by SIPTU and National Bus and Railworkers' Union members has attracted strong criticism from business organisations. The director of the Small Firms Association, Mr Pat Delaney, yesterday said: "There can be no future for any sector which disregards the needs of its customers to the extent of the public transport sector in 2000."
"How long more does business and the public have to suffer this pitiful excuse for a public transport system before the decision to deregulate is taken and acted upon," he asked.
Public transport workers were "holding a gun to the head of the general public" and acting "with total disregard of the hardship they inflict on other citizens".
Mr Simon Nugent, chief executive of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, called for "the speedy introduction" of competition. "Business would like to support our public transport system if it were reliable and efficient for freight, commuter and business travel. However, our members throughout the country are telling us they cannot rely on the rail system because there is so much disruption.
"This week's disruption is another nail in the coffin for confidence in the rail system. It simply reinforces the need for the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, to fast-track her plans in terms of liberalising the public transport sector."
The NBRU general secretary, Mr Liam Tobin, defended the signallers' action. Even with the latest offer from Iarnrod Eireann he said his members would be "down about £3,000 a year".
"What you have is a miserable basic wage being offered to men for passing trains at 100 m.p.h. with hundreds of passengers on board through the system. They are not looking for the moon, but they are not going to accept these losses."
Mr John Keenan, Iarnrod Eireann's human resources manager, said the signallers were being offered a deal which would reduce their working week by between 20 and 25 per cent. Compensation worth up to £20,000 was available to "cushion" them against lost earnings. "We are not pushing people over a wages cliff, but parachuting them down so they land gently," he said.