Holiday train services could face disruption this weekend if members of the Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association decides not to co-operate with a new agreement made between Iarnrod Eireann and the other drivers' unions. The agreement comes into force at midnight on Sunday and the ILDA has called an extraordinary general meeting of members for Sunday afternoon.
The ILDA has 117 of the 250 mainline train drivers. It has a majority of drivers in Athlone, Dundalk, Drogheda, Sligo and Westport, as well as at Dublin's Inchicore depot. If ILDA members refuse to work under the new agreement, it could affect all mainline services to the north-east, the north-west and midlands, as well as the Arrow suburban line in Dublin. DART services would not be affected.
This is the third year in a row that train drivers have threatened to disrupt services on the June public holiday, the busiest day of the year for rail travellers. The executive secretary of the ILDA, Mr Brendan Ogle, said the decision not to convene a meeting until Sunday was to allow maximum time for the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, and the Labour Relations Commission to intervene.
Iarnrod Eireann does not recognise the ILDA and the other train drivers' unions, SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail workers' Union, have urged drivers to operate the new system, which was accepted by a majority of their members. They have agreed to trade flexibility in working hours in return for enhanced basic pay rates of up to £29,500 a year. The current rate is £17,500.
The ILDA has written to the Labour Relations Commission asking it to intervene. Ms O'Rourke was apparently unaware of the threat to services yesterday when she announced details of plans to spend £90 million on new trains and buses. The acquisitions include 26 DART carriages, 20 diesel rail cars and 373 buses for Dublin and the provinces.
There was further good news for commuters last night when SIPTU and NBRU members in Dublin Bus voted overwhelmingly to accept a review group package that would boost their basic pay to £330 a week, in return for £9.6 million in cost-saving measures.