TRAVEL TO, from and within the UK is expected to be seriously disrupted on Wednesday during a 24-hour general strike which is due to commence at midnight on Tuesday.
The UK public sector strike is part of an ongoing dispute over pension contribution changes.
Unison trade union chief Dave Prentis said that the organisation’s members “are not asking for more – they just want the pension benefits they signed up for to stand”. The union said it was willing to continue engaging in negotiations over the issues behind the strike until 30 November.
Last week, the UK Border Agency issued a statement saying that it was putting “robust arrangements in place” to maintain border security and minimise disruption during its employees’ strike on 30 November. However, Heathrow Airport operator BAA warned passengers could suffer hours of delays while trying to pass through the airport’s immigration during the strike.
Aer Lingus has posted a notice advising its passengers that they should be largely unaffected by the strike, given that flights between Ireland and the UK operate within the Common Travel Area.
However, passengers who are transferring to another airline could be affected and are advised to contact their booking agent or airlines to examine their options.
Meanwhile, Irish Rail says that no cross-border Dublin to Belfast services will operate on Wednesday, and that a limited Enterprise service will run between Dublin and Dundalk. Details of cancelled Dublin-Dundalk services can be found on Irish Rail’s site here. Translink has warned it will not be running any scheduled bus or rail services on 30 November during the industrial action.
Bus Éireann has also warned of disruptions to cross-border services on Wednesday. The company says in a statement that although it intends to run its services as scheduled, the suspension of Translink’s operations could affect capacity and that services could be subject to change at short notice. AA Roadwatch will be providing further updates on the travel disruptions online and on Twitter.
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