Labour Court recommends further talks over train drivers’ pay after railway fatalities

The Labour Court recommended that Iarnrod Eireann, the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and the National Bus and Rail Union engage without delay over average pay for train drivers absent after encountering a fatality on the railway line. The recommendation was signed on 28 April 2017. The unions had referred the dispute under Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1969. After the matter first came before the Court in 2016, it directed the parties to discuss it further, with WRC assistance if needed, and suggested a joint referral if they could not agree. The unions referred it back in February 2017 after talks failed and the parties could not agree on a joint referral. The Court said established procedures were available for collective disputes and expressed concern that the Section 20(1) referral meant only one side was bound by the outcome. It recommended further engagement, WRC assistance if necessary and, if the issue remained unresolved, a referral under Section 26(1).