Dart drivers told to drop pay demands
Dart drivers must drop demands for increases to their €48,000-a-year salary for working on new eight carriage trains, they were told today.
With a boycott of test services on the cards, Iarnrod Eireann management insisted that unions and staff abide by a Labour Court ruling in order to prevent major disruption on the Dublin commuter route.
The Dart lines on the east coast have seen a €176m investment over the last two years to accommodate extended trains. But it is understood drivers are pushing for up to €20,000 extra in their wage packets for running the improved service.
Barry Kenny, Iarnrod Eireann spokesman, said the thousands of passengers who use the service daily deserved to see the new carriages, worth €80m, on track.
“Drivers are now rostered for Monday evening to start testing and commissioning, and that’s what we are saying to drivers, that’s what they should do, and to unions that’s what needs to happen,” he said.
“We can’t have a situation were people simply refuse.”
Drivers had requested a basic pay increase but never fully stated the sums involved. The Labour Court ruled an existing agreement from 2000 allowed for improvements to the service without resistance or interruption.
Under the “New Deal” Dart drivers are among the best paid workers in the transport sector with earnings of around €48,000-a-year, for a five-day 41 hour week.
Willie Noone, SIPTU representative, said workers had genuine grievances over the new service and wanted recognition for their work.
“We have explained the situation to the Dart drivers and the difficulty in getting Iarnrod Eireann to recognise their genuine grievances,” Mr Noone said.
“We put the Labour Court recommendation out to ballot in democratic fashion and we have also said to them that depending on the result of that ballot we will then look at the direction to go forward.”
Testing of the eight carriage trains is scheduled to begin on Monday evening but management fear drivers may refuse to run the new trains and push for strike action. The fully upgraded Dart service is due to be on track by mid-September.
