Industrial action at the East and West link toll bridges will continue tomorrow in a dispute over pay and conditions.
SIPTU said no talks to resolve the dispute are scheduled for tonight, although the possibility of last-minute efforts have not been ruled out.
Over one hundred workers, who are members of SIPTU, are striking over pay and the length of their working week.
"The formula put forward by management to increase basic pay was simply not enough to close the gap between us," SIPTU officer Ms Ethel Buckley said. He added an informal offer of Labour Court intervention came too late to divert industrial action. "We were disappointed to see the management team operating the toll bridges this morning as this will only make the quest for an acceptable resolution more difficult.
Management operated the toll-booths today. They will be unattended between 9 p.m. 6 a.m. when traffic is lighter.
Meanwhile, SIPTU rejected National Toll Road’s claim that it had offered employees a 14 per cent pay increase.
SIPTU claims the offer is notional and would be offset by a reduction in hours from 41 to 37.5 per week.
It also said another 2 per cent was due to employees under the Review Clause of the PPF. The pay offer was in effect, 3 per cent, the union said.
Ms Buckely added: "The starting rate in National Toll Roads is £5.87 per hour and we are claiming an hourly rate of £8.00 per hour based on the increased value of our members.
AA Roadwatch said disruption to traffic today was minimal with many drivers using alternative routes across the city. Traffic on the toll bridges was reported to be 18-20 per cent lower than normal.