Late-night DART services should be back on schedule this Christmas following resolution of the long-running dispute with train drivers. A full service to Greystones and Malahide will not be possible before the new year, but a significant increase in the number trains to both destinations, and to Portmar nock, is expected from Monday.
This was the estimate of Iarnrod Eireann's human re sources manager, Mr John Keenan. He was also positive about yesterday's Labour Court recommendation for signallers, on the basis of which SIPTU and the National Bus and Railworkers' Union deferred today's threatened strike on mainline services.
The Minister for Transport, Ms O'Rourke, said she was pleased at the outcome of the DART ballot.
The only remaining threat to rail travellers is from level-crossing gatekeepers. They are planning one-day strikes on December 15th and 22nd over a number of longstanding issues arising from their October 1998 agreement with the company.
SIPTU and the NBRU decided to defer today's strike by signallers after the Labour Court awarded pay increases which will see the top of the basic pay scale rise from £12,200 a year to £26,800. Yesterday evening DART drivers voted by a comfortable majority to accept the Labour Court award of £29,500 for an annualised hours contract of 48 hours per week, of which 41 will actually be worked.
The package on which signallers will vote is probably the best negotiated so far, relatively speaking, for rail workers. The general secretary of the NBRU, Mr Liam Tobin, said that the agreement gave them almost all they had been looking for.
The unions had sought improvements in basic pay which would protect earnings of members used to working over 60 hours a week. Under the annualised hours deal the cap will be 48 hours a week.
The unions had sought £27,800 for grade one signallers working 48 hours, £26,410 for grade two signallers and £25,089 for grade three signallers. The Labour Court has awarded rates of £26,800, £25,200 and £23,400, respectively, shaving only £1,000 to £1,600 off the union claim. Over a third of the 138 signallers will receive promotions.
SIPTU's rail secretary, Mr Tony Tobin, said the new deal would transform the lifestyles of members, ensuring them two days off each week, better pensions and improved pay.