Iarnród Éireann has indicated it will take High Court action against the National Bus and Rail Union and Siptu over what it alleged was unofficial industrial action by Dart drivers.
It maintained that Dart drivers had engaged in co-ordinated action in refusing to train new recruits.
It said this was in breach of their contracts of employment.
The company threatened the High Court action in a letter to the National Bus and Rail Union and Siptu dated April 12th which only came into the public domain on Monday night.
The National Bus and Rail Union strongly denied the allegation that it was co-ordinating unofficial industrial action and criticised the State-owned rail company over the move.
‘A new low’
NBRU general secretary Dermot O'Leary said: "Irish Rail has reached a new low by threatening staff and trade unions with High Court action over what is clearly a matter of individual choice for drivers. This aggressive Thatcherite type reaction does nothing but show how devoid of ideas those who now run this company actually are, it is nothing short of appalling that a State-owned organisation would resort to such skulduggery.
"The NBRU will vigorously defend our integrity as a trade union. Any industrial action we ever undertake, commences only after we receive a mandate from our members. This Tory-style attack, coupled with the disgraceful intimidatory tactics being demonstrated by Luas operator Transdev, taking obvious advantage of the political vacuum, is a challenge to those involved in discussions on government formation to publicly state, that the protection of workers' rights are fundamental in a fair and just society.Those who make ludicrous decisions such as to threaten court action against workers, must surely be held to account for such outright blaggardism."
The new row between unions and management at Iarnród Éireann comes in the wake of a series of other disputes between the parties. Last month the company withdrew plans to introduce a 10-minute Dart service – one of its key business objectives for the year in the face of strong opposition from drivers.
