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Trains back as militant drivers lift strike

TRAIN drivers decided to lift their wildcat strike at 2am this morning to allow talks with management to start.

After 14 hours of bitter negotiations the drivers agreed to abandon their two-day stoppage. This will allow their union representatives to meet Iarnród Éireann management at Connolly Station in Dublin this morning.

The drivers will not be required to operate the new Mark 4 trains today. The talks on issues surrounding these new trains will be mediated by Phil Flynn.

In the early hours of this morning, Mr Flynn was forceful in persuading the locomotive drivers' committee to get their drivers to pull back from their unofficial action.

There was evident dissent in the union ranks as an announcement of the peace moves was delayed for hours.

Thousands of commuters will now escape a further day of disruption but some services may be unpredictable in the early morning.

Iarnród Éireann management has indicated that it will not delay the introduction of the new, faster Mark 4 trains despite the unofficial drivers' action.

Yesterday, the second day of the rail dispute, hit about 45,000 passengers and the cost to Iarnród Éireann is believed to be more than €1m. Union officials from SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union spent over eight hours with the locomotive drivers' committee trying to persuade them to lift their unofficial action.

All train services between Dublin and the south and west were subject to severe disruption during the second day of unofficial action by drivers in Cork backed by some colleagues in Limerick, Galway, Athlone, Westport and Dublin.

Dart services and trains to Belfast, Rosslare, Sligo, Dundalk, Drogheda and Rosslare continued to operate.

Throughout yesterday, the state transport company was unable to guarantee Intercity services from Mayo, Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Kerry or Cork/Cobh, Limerick and Kerry local services. Commuter services to and from Portlaoise and Kildare were also badly affected.

The drivers' group assembled at the North Star Hotel opposite Connolly Station in Dublin at 10.30am for talks. They adjourned briefly in mid-afternoon while union leaders tried to broker a quick peace formula.

The rail management has taken a firm stance that it will not negotiate on training allowances or roster productivity while any form of industrial action is being undertaken.

Strategy director John Keegan said the company had only introduced one of its eight new train sets.

The drivers could have refused to drive it without escalating the issue.

Mr Keegan rejected claims that the company had provoked the action on Monday morning in advance of agreed talks due to start yesterday.

Green Party transport spokesman Eamon Ryan placed the blame on Transport Minister Martin Cullen claiming that he had failed to get a speedy resolution and ensure that the new Mark 4 faster trains were in operation earlier this year.

The dispute centres on negotiations over increased safety monitoring and potential improved productivity from new working rosters.

The drivers maintain these should be agreed in advance of operating the Mark 4 faster trains.

The management position is that this issue of operating the Mark 4 engines was dealt with the the Labour Court.

In January it ruled the operation was covered by the 2000 'New Deal' restructuring of drivers' work.

SIPTU national organiser Mr Halpenny said earlier yesterday that he did not expect the dispute to escalate outside of routes served from Heuston Station in Dublin.

Gerald Flynn

from uninison.ie

whats this about the

the Mark 4 faster trains.

and

Mark 4 engines

another classic piece from the independent newsgroup