Strike action continuing on toll bridges

The East and West link toll bridges in Dublin are still being manned by managers and other staff of National Toll Roads (NTR) …

The East and West link toll bridges in Dublin are still being manned by managers and other staff of National Toll Roads (NTR) this afternoon.

 Mr Noel O'Shea
One of the striking workers, Mr Noel O'Shea, at West Link toll bridge yesterday.

This is a result of industrial action by 100 toll booth operators - represented by SIPTU - over pay and conditions in the company, which is now in its second day.

NTR have reiterated their calls to the public to have exact change ready to minimise delays, which were reported as being negligible today.

It is expected the strike will resume tomorrow. A spokeswoman for NTR said they had hoped the stoppage would only last for one day, but SIPTU have indicated to them that they would strike until their demands were met.

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Ms Ethel Buckley of SIPTU said this afternoon the workers were resolute in their determination to get a fair deal.She also accusedNTR management of trying to undermine the strike.

"It is bad enough that the management are performing work which is proper to our members by operating the toll bridges themselves but it is absolutely outrageous that they offered £8.00 per hour to a worker to continue working, instead of the usual rate of £6.02 per hour.

"A starting rate of £8.00 per hour and a shorter working week is all it will take to bring this dispute to an end, and while management are prepared to offer that amount to break the strike, they don't seem to be prepared to offer it to settle the dispute, despite having made £30 million profit over the last two years."

Hopes of last-minute talks did not materialise last night.

"The formula put forward by management to increase basic pay was simply not enough to close the gap between us," Ms Buckley said last night.

She added an informal offer of Labour Court intervention came too late to divert industrial action.

AA Roadwatchsaid disruption to traffic around the bridges yesterday was minimal. Many drivers used alternative routes creating increased congestion in other parts of the city. Traffic on the toll bridges was reported to be 18-20 per cent lower than normal.

The toll barriers were left unmanned at 9 p.m. last night but charging resumed at 6 a.m. this morning. Similar arrangements will apply tonight, the NTR spokeswoman said.