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SIPTU WORKERS IN Irish Rail have narrowly rejected a Labour Court cost-cutting plan, raising the prospect of industrial action.
The defeat of the vote by a margin of 53% to 47% comes after the LRC made recommendations that would see temporary pay cuts phased in over a 25 month period.
“It is clear from this ballot result that our members have categorically rejected the acceptance of any further pay reductions,” Siptu’s organiser Paul Cullen said following the vote, adding that pay cuts are now off the table.
It is clear from this vote that Siptu does not have a mandate from its members to engage in any further negotiations with the management of Irish Rail which include any pay reductions.
It follows union members at Siptu voting in favour of industrial action at the beginning of last month before fresh talks appeared to get consensus back on track.
A second union in Irish Rail, the NBRU, withdrew from the talks saying that “no serious attempts” were being made to address concerns of their members.
They had been calling for staff to receive a dividend for achieving €37 million worth of savings at Irish Rail since 2008.
Irish Rail says that the result of the vote was “very much regretted” and notes that the proposals were accepted by three other unions, the TSSA, TEEU and Unite:
This result is very much regretted, given the financial crisis the company is experiencing. The savings targeted from these proposals are essential, along with a range of other measures, to prevent Iarnród Éireann from becoming insolvent and to protect our services and the employment of our workforce.
The company says they must now consider the Siptu result in light of what they describe as “the company’s critical financial situation”.
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I must have the most childish sense of humour because that had me in stitches!
You’re not alone. I got a great laugh out of that.
Me too Sam. Hilarious.
I’ve no idea why I read them with a Jamaican accent playing in my head.
He’s talking Jive, like in Airplane
Was it leprechaun language
Molly oh god a Jamaican accent makes even funnier! I need to step away from this article before I’m committed!
A happy Gock Dinna iPhone to all flash drives today
Welcome to my world Sam :)
That doesn’t surprise me given the exaggerated upper class accent he has affected since he became president. Does he think his natural accent does not befit the office? In his recent trip to England he sounded more Received Pronunciation English than Irish.
His accent has nothing to do with it! He was speaking Irish, the youtube subtitling gizmo was trying to reproduce the sounds in English…..
He always spoke like that. So what?
Maybe the subtitling software found itself burdened with the impossible task of deciphering the Irish language as it is spoken by someone with an accent associated with the British and former Irish upper-class.
I dislike home more than any other politician in Ireland. It really irked me the other day when he suggested that the Irish people could feel hopeful for the future as growth was returning to the economy – if the government had followed the left-wing policies that he always advocates, naively, then there would be no growth and things would have gotten much worse.
*him
I like to think of Michael D and the missus watching this and laughing their asses off.
Almost as bad as his poetry.
First time a politician made any sense on TV?
He looks like Mickalene from the Quiet Man
Or her man in Darby O’Gill
Bloody hilarious!
Is the video blocked?
It’ll go viral if it’s not!
Well send them the proper translation then and stop whinging about it. Didn’t need a translation thanks.
You ok hun?
Read this back to the tune of Amhrán na bhFiann, it should be our new national anthem!
In other words, Aras an Uachtarain didn’t bother their @rses uploading their own Irish subtitles. How incredibly lazy and half-assed, cos it only takes a couple of minutes to do that.
With Enda being an ex teacher as well lol.
That’s hilarious !!! Although it’s also to be noted that the Irish you guys quoted is also spelt wrong in each section at least once!! #getanirishjournalist #callme
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