The strike by 100 SIPTU members at the East Link and West Link toll bridges is expected to begin at 9 a.m. today. About 30 management and ancillary staff are expected to operate the system during the strike but National Toll Roads accepts some disruption is inevitable.
The company says it might not operate the toll system between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when traffic is at its lightest. Motorists would then be able to cross without charge. A final decision on this has yet to be taken.
About 70,000 vehicles a day use the West Link bridge and more than 20,000 use the East Link. Revenue from the West Link route comes to almost £68,000 a day and the East Link route is worth £15,200 daily.
Attempts by the Labour Court to mediate failed yesterday and both sides seem determined not to move.
The company has offered to increase the top of the pay scale to £22,300 a year, while SIPTU wants £26,000. The current top rate is £18,300.
SIPTU branch secretary Mr Mick Halpin said last night, "This is a highly profitable company and we are not going to stand over low wage structures." He said the union remained available for talks, but given the current negotiating positions there was no basis for a deferral of strike action.
One reason the union may be reluctant to defer industrial action is that NTR is about to introduce an Eazypass system. This would enable motorists to buy a plastic strip that would be mounted on the windscreen behind the rearview mirror and act as a swipe card that would allow them to use the toll bridge automatically.
While this would reduce the workload of staff it would also make it easier for management to operate the system with smaller numbers, thus reducing the impact of strike action. The chief executive of NTR, Mr Jim Barry, said that it could not afford to concede the union claim.
"We're going to have to compete for new toll roads with other companies that don't have our high cost overheads. SIPTU is pricing us out of the market."
THE Irish model of social partnership is less effective at tackling inequality than most of its European counterparts, according to a new University of Limerick study.
What success has been achieved can be attributed in large part to extremely high levels of economic growth fuelled by foreign investment and has little international relevance, the authors suggest.
In The Irish Model of Social Partnership: Achievements and Limitations, Mr Thomas Turner and Mr Joe Wallace say the new generation of national agreements since 1987 "exhibits low levels of social solidarity, and thus lies closer to the liberal end of the corporatist sector rather than the Scandinavian model".
ireland.com - The Irish Times
Updates on how Dublin's traffic is being affected by the one-day strike by staff at Dublin's East and West Link toll bridges are available from The Irish Times Breaking News service, www.ireland.com