Kildare commuters face travel chaos as Irish Rail announce 5 days of strike action
The National Bus and Rail Union(NBRU) have announced that Irish Rail workers will be carrying out strikes on five occasions in the space of five weeks following a dispute over pay with the company.
The announcement of the dates for the strike days was also made this afternoon, with the first one coming on November 1 and the rest taking place over the following five weeks.
Around 6,000 commuters in Kildare currently rely on train services to get to and from work or college.
All stoppages will see workers down tools for 24 hours and occurs on the following dates.
- Wednesday, November 1: 24 hour work stoppage, full withdrawal of labour and the placing of pickets
- Tuesday, November 7: 24 hour work stoppage, full withdrawal of labour and the placing of pickets
- Tuesday, November 14: 24 hour work stoppage, full withdrawal of labour and the placing of pickets
- Thursday, November 23: 24 hour work stoppage, full withdrawal of labour and the placing of pickets
- Friday December 8: 24 hour work stoppage, full withdrawal of labour and the placing of pickets
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said in a statement this afternoon: "Following a meeting this afternoon, the Trade Union Group representing all workers at Irish Rail, in pursuance of a long overdue flat pay award, have decided to serve notice on the Company for the following series of industrial actions."
"The Trade Union Group will conduct reviews on an ongoing basis and may decide to escalate the action by way of increased frequency and duration.
"The responsibility for this dispute lies squarely with the CEO and his management team at Irish Rail.
"The treatment meted out to staff over the last number of months, and in particular the debacle which occurred at the WRC last evening, has been nothing short of contemptuous and will make a resolution to this dispute even more difficult, if not now impossible.