The National Bus and Rail Union and SIPTU branches representing train drivers at Iarnrod Eireann reached an agreement with the company this year after three years of negotiations. According to both unions the deal offered drivers the opportunity to abolish their dependence on working a seven-day roster.
Among the achievements claimed by the unions were:
a reduction in the average working hours from 60 to a maximum of 46 per week;
a reduction from an average of seven days worked per week to a maximum of five days;
an earnings package of £29,500 a year with a guarantee of 96 days' rest per year;
a 64 per cent increase in pension benefit and a 64 per cent increase in sick pay.
The deal was negotiated by the company's intercity and area operations managers, and both sides expressed satisfaction with aspects of the deal.
Before the secret ballot, drivers, including the members of the Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association (ILDA), were offered the opportunity to renew their membership of SIPTU or the NBRU to take part in the ballot. The ILDA members declined.
The ILDA criticised aspects of the new deal, particularly in relation to the hours per day that a driver may be asked to work and the use of "contingency" drivers. "This dispute is about recognition of the ILDA who would wish to renegotiate this deal. We will certainly not sit back and allow this splinter group, who refused to accept the outcome of the democratic ballot, to interfere in this deal," the unions said in a joint statement.
However, the ILDA said the deal would mean:
an increase in the working day from nine to 11 hours;
an increase in the maximum daily mileage from 360 to 420;
the introduction of part-time drivers and the elimination of Sunday and public holiday payments;
the loss of three days' leave per driver, the introduction of annualised hours and the elimination of roster progression for senior drivers.
Yesterday, the ILDA's initial response to the Labour Court and Labour Relations Commission initiative was to label it a request to accept unsafe work practices.