Irish Rail have advised customers that they do not expect their services to run tomorrow.
Across the Dart, Intercity and commuter rail services, an estimated 155,000 passengers will be affected by Wednesday’s strike action.
Irish Rail workers want a 3.75% a year pay rise over three years to match recent wage increases secured by Luas and Dublin Bus workers.
According to the Irish Examiner, National Bus and Rail Union general secretary Dermot O’Leary said last night he was pessimistic that “any viable alternative” would be found by tomorrow.
A NBRU statement last month indicated the fury of NBRU members at what was described as a “contemptuous attitude” towards Irish Rail staff in refusing to offer a meaningful ‘no strings attached’ pay rise after a decade-long pay freeze.
It is believed that Irish Rail had offered a pay increase for staff of 1.5%, with a number of conditions including reduced hours and line closures, claiming that their ability to match the demands of the unions was compromised by accumulated debts of €160 million.
Irish Rail unions are planning to bring rail services to halt again on:
- Tuesday 7 November
- Tuesday 14 November (same day as the Ireland V Denmark game)
- Thursday 23 November
- Friday 8 December
Further strike action is expected to be planned beyond these dates should no agreement by found by then.
As per the Irish Rail website, passengers looking for a refund on tickets already purchased for travel:
Refunds – online booking
If you have booked travel on these dates, we will cancel your booking for the dispute date journey leg and automatically refund you seven days prior to your date of travel (e.g. 25 October for 1 November, 31 October for 7 November etc). Please allow 3 to 5 days for your financial institution to process your refund.
Please note no further bookings will be accepted on these dates due to the proposed industrial action.
Refunds – Monthly and annual season tickets
Customers who purchase monthly and annual season tickets, including through their company as part of the Taxsaver scheme, can apply for a refund for the days impacted by the industrial action. These will be processed at the end of the industrial action in a single process. A dedicated refund form will be available at the conclusion of the industrial action.
Refunds – tickets purchased at station
Customers who purchase their tickets at the station who were impacted by the industrial action should collect a refund form at the station or see refund details here and return to the address outlined.
