Rail union say yes to pay award

labour Court helps broker deal

IRISH Rail union members have voted to accept Labour Court recommendations on pay.

Judges intervened in the dispute between National Bus and Rail Union members and Irish Rail last month after a two 24-hour strikes.

The majority of Irish Rail NBRU members accepted the proposals from the court which were made last month.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, its general secretary Dermot O’leary said: “Our members have made a mature and pragmatic decision to accept this pay award after 10 years of stagnation.

“The NBRU will now concentrate on ensuring our members in Bus Eireann will soon be in a similar position as colleagues in Iarnrod Eireann and Dublin Bus, by achieving a long overdue and well-deserved pay award.”

Welcoming the developments, an Irish Rail spokesman: “Iarnrod Eireann has received confirmation this afternoon that all of the company’s trade unions – Siptu, NBRU, TSSA, TEEU and Unite — have accepted the Labour Court recommendation on pay in the company.

“The company welcomes this outcome, and will now move to the implementation phase.

“It looks forward to engaging with our trade unions on the essential efficiency and productivity issues outlined in the recommendation, and within the timescales detailed by the Labour Court.

“Most importantly, this will ensure service continuity for our customers, and allow us to develop our services in response to growing customer demand.”

In its recommendations, the Labour Court specified thatunions should not make any further pay claim until the current deal expires.

The company should offer a “goodwill gesture in the form of a €500 voucher” to be paid this month.