'Not too late' to resolve Irish Rail strike: FF
The Fianna Fáil spokesperson for transport has said it is not too late for unions and management at Irish Rail to re-enter talks and avoid industrial action.
Yesterday, unions at Iarnród Éireann announced five 24-hour strikes as a dispute with management over pay escalates.
The strikes are planned for:
The strike on the 14th coincides with the Republic of Ireland’s football match against Denmark while the stoppage on the 8th clashes with a busy day for Christmas shoppers.
155,000 train journeys will be affected every day during the strikes.
Robert Troy TD said: "It's not too late. I'd call on unions and management to go back into talks. There are indications an agreement was nearly reached; they should go back and try to reach that agreement.
"It's in no one's interest that we have industrial action."
Meanwhile, business representative group Ibec says the proposed strike action will cause "massive and unnecessary disruption".
The group has called on all parties in the dispute to get back into talks.
Ibec's Maeve McElwee says a strike around Halloween, in the run-up to Christmas, is devastating for retail, hospitality and tourism.
"It's very challenging (for them)," she said. "It's a very significant time of the year for those businesses, and they rely on their customers being able to move around freely. It's an extraordinarily challenging situation for them."
@DermotLeary Trade Union Group announce series of 24hr Stoppages at Irish Rail pic.twitter.com/SZJqEFGhKf
— DermotoLeary NBRU GS (@DermotLeary) October 20, 2017
