Hopes have risen for a resolution of the pay dispute which threatens to halt the Luas light rail service in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day and several other days in the coming weeks.
Luas drivers and management representatives from Transdev, the company which operates the Luas, are to attend talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Tuesday morning.
Transdev managing director Gerry Madden said the tram operator was " in resolution mode and is happy to go to talks Tuesday in the WRC and engage in meaningful discussions".
As well as St Patrick’s Day, the drivers have also announced strikes on another two days this month and on four days in April. The strikes would close the Luas lines on the days affected.
Transdev has dropped proposals to provide buses on St Patrick’s Day to replace tram services . The plans were cancelled after a request from Kieran Mulvey of the WRC.
The company's decision was quickly welcomed by Siptu divisional organiser Owen Reidy who said that while the commission's intervention was welcome, much work remained to be done.
The commission also confirmed three other groups of Transdev employees are to continue their negotiations with the company under the auspices of the WRC on Tuesday morning.
“In order to create a climate of positivity to these engagements, and without prejudice to the position of any party, the commission has requested the company to defer any alternative travel arrangements for Luas passengers on Thursday, St Patrick’s Day” the commission said.
The commission said it had been in contact with the parties over the weekend and was conscious of the statements by the Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohue, “in regard to avoiding future disruption to Luas services and providing a continuity of service for the general public”.
A spokeswoman for Mr Donohoe said there would be no further comment “while the Workplace Relations Commission discussions are underway”.
Fianna Fáil spokesman Timmy Dooley called on Luas workers to postpone their planned strike action “as a gesture of goodwill” until a new government is formed.
Mr Dooley, who said he does not expect to be the new minister for transport, said it was in drivers’ own interests to postpone industrial action until a new administration was in place to “meaningfully engage” with their demands.
While Mr Dooley said he “was never slow” to criticise Mr Donohoe, he believed it was now too late for the Minister to engage meaningfully with the unions. “It will be for the incoming government to engage” he said.
Barry Kenny of Iarnród Éireann said the company would also be attending discussions at the WRC concerning the planned introduction of a 10-minute frequency for Dart suburban rail services in Dublin from April 10th.
The more frequent services would mean “more trains for customers, and more jobs for drivers” he said. Additional drivers had been trained “so the improved service can be delivered within existing rostering parameters.
“As new drivers have been trained, the delivery of the enhanced schedule is not a productivity issue as claimed by driver unions Siptu and NBRU. The company hopes the trade unions will engage with the normal process of timetable change at local level so this much-needed enhanced service can be delivered to customers as planned on 10th April” he said.
