FURY OVER LUAS STRIKE ON 1916 CENTENARY
Outrage as workers to cause mayhem for thousands planning to join in city celebrations
LUAS workers are set to hold families wishing to celebrate the 1916 Centenary to ransom by striking over the Easter weekend.
The news of the drastic action being taken was met with vociferous opposition yesterday as they were accused of showing ‘total disrespect’ to those wishing to commemorate the Rising.
Strike days have been chosen in a calculated way by the Luas workers who are demanding better pay and working conditions, with some seeking pay rises of up to 53.8%.
Luas strikes are already planned for next Tuesday and St Patrick’s Day, March 17.
The workers have already disrupted commuters’ lives with strikes on four days last month, where a reported 90,000 commuters were affected each day.
A Siptu spokesperson confirmed last night that the union’s members have issued notice of their intention to strike on Easter Sunday and Monday (March 27 and 28), when thousands of visitors from near and far are expected to descend on the capital for the 1916 commemoration events.
Businesses, 1916 descendants and Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe have all hit out at the drivers for their actions, which have been described as ‘shocking’, ‘incredulous’ and ‘wrong’.
In their ongoing row with light rail operators Transdev, the workers are seeking pay rises of between 8% and 53.8%, plus additional days off and increased pay for overtime. However, it is understood that they are willing to negotiate on the pay rises.
Proinsias O’Rathaille, grandson of Rising Volunteer The O’Rahilly, said he is aware of a lot of people travelling to Dublin to participate and attend the events who have secured accommodation on the premise of using the Luas as their main mode of transport in and out of the city centre. ‘Naturally enough this is going to disrupt everything,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail. ‘They will be sectioning off part of the city... I can see it is going to be a very expensive time for any of the Diaspora coming here because people will have to come in by taxi from some of these places where buses aren’t available.’
Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe also condemned the strike threats. ‘This behaviour threatens to further disrupt significant events in our city, this time around Easter week commemorations,’ he said.
A union source said that after Workplace Relations Commission talks were cancelled last week, their members from each of the four grades involved – drivers, supervisors, ticket inspectors and their supervisors – met to discuss their next course of action.
The drivers have issued notice for Easter weekend to ensure the company ‘would treat the talks seriously’. It is understood that the WRC indicated it would not be able to facilitate the talks due to the drivers’ Easter weekend threats.
Of the 240 employees involved in the dispute, 180 are drivers. Transdev said salaries, including bonuses and overtime, average at €36,861 for inspectors and €52,728 for traffic supervisors.
AJ Noonan from the Small Firms Association has also reacted furiously to the driver plans to escalate the row and
‘Very expensive for the Diaspora’ ‘They don’t give a damn’
has branded it ‘shocking’.
He is leading the calls for drivers to cancel the strikes, saying the St Patrick’s Day festivities alone are worth €50million to the local economy.
‘The people that are suffering are the commuters and the business people and they (the strikers) don’t give a damn. It’s shocking,’ he said.
‘You wouldn’t have it in the banana republic,’ he fumed.
Transdev managing director Gerry Madden said its workers are no longer just threatening the company with ‘unrealistic pay claims’ but are also attempting to ‘jeopardise the Irish economy and Irish jobs’.
As well as losing fares, Transdev will also be fined approximately €100,000 for each day the service does not run.
IT was bad enough when Luas drivers said they would take strike action on St Patrick’s Day, potentially ruining the national holiday for thousands coming to the parade in Dublin – but the news that they are now also targeting Easter Sunday and Monday is a new low.
This Easter, we have a once-in-a-century chance to celebrate the founding of our republic, with children especially looking forward to the pomp and pageantry of the Centenary. For many, their dreams of taking part will be destroyed.
The right to withhold your labour, the right to strike, is a fundamental one, but it must be undertaken responsibly and it should target the employer, in an attempt to bring him to the negotiating table. Luas operator Transdev is fined heavily when it cannot provide the service it is contracted for, so taking such action on a normal working day is just as effective as striking on public holidays.
By involving the public in the most callous way possible, the unions and the drivers may think they are gaining maximum publicity for their cause, but they should be disabused of any notion that it will generate sympathy. Instead, this new plan is nasty, vindictive, cynical and exploitative, and will erode completely any support out there. Indeed, many are already saying the entire driving staff should be fired, and replaced with people who would appreciate a relatively cushy job with good pay and conditions.
One hundred years ago, patriots died to escape the shackles of an empire and forge a new, self-governing state, and it is hugely disrespectful of their legacy to hijack the commemoration and turn it into something else entirely.
The drivers and Siptu must understand that if they strike at Easter, almost everyone will turn against them. They must surely be familiar with the term, so let us say this is a red-line issue for the passengers who pay their wages. The drivers must rethink their action or they will face unprecedented fury.