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LUAS DRIVERS HAVE served notice on their employers Transdev that they will strike on 2, 3, 23 and 24 April.
Drivers are already scheduled on St Patrick’s Day, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
Siptu’s Owen Reidy says that the strikes came after Transdev said it would talk to three of the four grades in the company, but not drivers.
“There are 250 employees in Luas, 170 are drivers,” he told TheJournal.ie.
“We’re back in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) tomorrow with the other three grades, but not the drivers.”
Drivers had lowered a 53% pay claim to 27% over five years earlier this week, but talks at the WRC ended at an impasse after 11 hours of negotiation.
Reidy said that the company’s decision not to negotiate with drivers was “ironic”.
The irony is that the drivers have moderated their pay claim and offered to suspend the work to rule.
“They won’t talk to the drivers so the drivers have no option but to keep announcing actions.”
Transdev’s Gerry Madden said that customers and businesses were the losers in the dispute.
“The public will have no tram service for St Patrick’s Day, no tram service for Easter Weekend and now no tram service for two weekends in April.
“Transdev is willing to talk with the Driver grade in the WRC but have stated that those talks will only be meaningful if the pay claim is modified to a reasonable point.
“I am disappointed with the notice served today and the total disregard being shown to the public”.
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Probably the most unpopular strike in Irish history.
Yep. It is. When the public is not on your side during a strike action, you know you don’t have a case. Please advertise the jobs. I’m happy to take a post.
Some people would say they are lucky to have jobs even if it is relatively lowly paid compared to a train or bis driver.
Oops bus.
It reminds me of the time the plumbers went on strike in 07/08 before everything colapsed. No one gave a shite about them either.
If Transdev can’t supply a reliable service, surely their contract should be terminated.
And what difference would it make if a different operator took over, should they just cave in to the ridiculous wage demands of these drivers?
True. But then the union (nor employees) doesn’t give a sh*te if the public are onside or not. We aren’t their target audience, we don’t have the power to accede to their claims. It’s the government (!) and Transdev they’re focused on and by inconveniencing us they are increasing the pressure on them to settle on Union terms.
Solidarity with the Luas drivers, the Cadbury workers, the nurses, the teachers and all workers struggling to obtain a greater share of the wealth which we create. As the data clearly shows, the trend over the past few decades has been overwhelmingly in the opposite direction with greater and greater wealth accumulating to capital owners and less and less to the workers. This has disastrous consequences for society and it’s long past time we stopped the rot.
Wally is there anybody you don’t support
Did someone text you Wally that you were needed on another union story?
Wally w@nk3r is a Luas driver simple as.. No one could be as blinkered as him to support this strike unless they are smoking Crack.
Well I’m not mad about the Kerry footballers Rod.
I the half back line went on strike you’d be out in sympathy
You certainly are a Wally , if the Cadbury workers don’t cop on they will soon join you on the public tit
True enough, I did support the Cork hurlers when they went on strike few years back.
How is going to be our ‘Ronald Reagan’ type politician and just sack the lot of them.
in the four strike days they would be able to train a couple of thousand drivers who are willing to take €42000 to sit down and push a button or two.
Will,
You need to inform yourself. Banks create nothing of real value. What they do produce is vast quantities of new money by the simple act of pressing a computer keyboard each and every time they issue a loan:
“By far the largest role in creating broad money is played by the banking sector…when banks make loans they create additional deposits for those that have borrowed.” – Bank of England 2007
http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/entry/where-does-money-come-from
They use this enormous privilege to fuel the periodic property bubbles that wreak economic havoc across the globe including the recent U.S and Irish ones.
The finance sector is just one part of the wider capitalist support infrastructure including academia and the media which peddles the illusion that money is a scare resource. That is utter nonsense. Our fiat floating currency and money is created (and deleted) at will on the computer keyboards of the world’s commercial and central banks.
It’s important to differentiate between money and real wealth/ resources. Money is how we measure wealth and also a claim on that wealth which society creates but it has no intrinsic value in itself. Money primarily exists as digits on a computer screens in the finance sector which at its core is just the vast sand rigged scoreboard of capitalism.
At a macro/government level, there can always be as much (or as little) money circulating in the economy as there needs to be to create full employment and control inflation. Governments (except the ones in the monetary trap of the euro) spend their own currency into existence at will and then tax it back out of circulation in a continuous flow. Fundamentally, money is just a tool to measure and allocate resources.
In contrast, the real wealth of goods and services that we all depend on is created by the labour and skill of the working class from the raw material of the planet. . Everything from the food in our bellies to the clothes on our backs right up to the most sophisticated technology is made by the workers.
Money is a claim on that real wealth produced by the working class and this is where money derives it’s power. The capitalist system peddles the illusion that there is a shortage of money (balance the books, reduce the deficit, live within your means etc) in order to oppress and control the working class who are the real creators of wealth
So wally , why aren’t you living in a hut in a field? You give out about the system but then you are willing to take the benefits.
Paul you cannot compare the jobs like for like. They are on a much lower wage because their job is far easier. There really isn’t much more to it than that.
Well said.
Jesus, Wally, you’re getting some mileage out of that particular passage of prose. I can find at least eight Journal articles where you’ve posted the same material.
Which part didn’t you understand Dave? The working class creates all of the real wealth and resources which supports human life. I’m a member of the working class and so am entitled to claim some of resources which I and my fellow workers have produced.
The capitalist class will not manufacture a single item, provide a single service of employ a single person without the expectation of profit. That profit is generated by the workers in the excess value they create over and above their wages. That is the essence of capitalism and it’s inherently exploitative.
In addition, capital rents out its accumulated assets, money, property etc in order to extract more profit from the working class. The capitalist class represent a tiny minority in society but hold an extraordinary amount of power and yield it to preserve the system which serves them so well.
We can see the results of this system for example where the 62 richest individuals on the planet now hold the same wealth as 3500 million people, the poorest half of the globe’s population.
Junior doctors work 60+hour weeks no breaks get vilified by all and sundry in third world conditions for 11€ an hour. Communism is a failed experiment
So Will, you accept now that banks do not in fact “create large amounts of wealth” ?
Ditto for “investors” who are only speculating on the wealth creation activities of others.
Wally, do you not think people should be rewarded based on the risks they take, the hours they work, and the investment put into their education? I worked 2 jobs so I could pay my way through college for 4 years. Even after that It took me another 6 years to get to their entry level!! And I’m not complaining, I live comfortably enough on that, because I live within my means and I’m not greedy and I’m happy to have a job. Any raise I ever got, I EARNED by improving my skillset, and gaining professional qualifications.
Maybe Luas drivers should have solidarity with the Irish public who pay their wages and keep them in a job instead of messing them about, and being greedy a$$bags. They’re no better than the politicians to claim to abhor.
Grot,
Good to know your following my work.
just fire them all already
Will, Its 3 yo 4 weeks training, thats all
They have a handy number and they want more money? They don’t have to deal with the public as in taken money off them and getting abuse because some dope doesn’t have enough money for their fair, and they don’t have to put up with idiots in heavy traffic! Let them all go and take on people willing to get paid good money for doing very little!
Will,
I’ll correct your misconceptions on communism when you acknowledge your misunderstanding of how commercial banking works (and irony).
You should understand that most of the foundation technology for computers and the internet on which Facebook depends in its entirety originates in the public sector. So for example the Internet (TCP/IP) itself was not developed by private enterprise. It was created by the U.S Dept of defense and assorted other U.S government agencies and universities. After decades of research and development in the public sector, the powerful new communications technology was following market dogma handed over to the private sector to be exploited for profit.
Even the richest capitalist on planet, Bill Gates, understands that capitalism is parasitic on the public sector..
“Since World War II, U.S.-government R&D has defined the state of the art in almost every area,” Gates said. “The private sector is in general inept.”
http://usuncut.com/climate/bill-gates-only-socialism-can-save-us-from-climate-change/
Give us a few examples of what the working classes have produced Wally , take your time now
Alan,
You think capitalism rewards workers based on the risks they take and the hours they work? If that was the case then the billions of workers worldwide toiling for endless hours in lethal environments would be the wealthiest people on the planet rather than the poorest.
The welfare of the majority working class is only improved through collective struggle against capital which is what the Luas workers are doing and why I support them.
The cause of the working class is only ever advanced significantly and sustainably through collective action, solidarity and struggle against the capitalist system. The lives of the majority are only bearable because of the many battles fought and won by the earlier unions for example. Minimum wage, 40 hour working week, workplace health and safety, universal health care and education, state pension etc etc etc. None of these concessions to the working class were willingly gifted by capital but we’re fought and won over centuries of socialist struggle.
Yes in Ireland that’s the case,and the subservient Irish have long accepted this status
I worked for a successful business only for a so called well qualified Accountant came in and wrecked it,he was also a so called born again Christians he put hundreds out of work on both sides of the Irish Sea, did he create wealth?
Still waiting Wally
No Wally, don’t twist what I said. I didn’t make a statement. I asked what YOU thought. And you only picked up on one of the three things I asked. What about the other two?
“The welfare of the majority working class is only improved through collective struggle against capital which is what the Luas workers are doing and why I support them.”
The majority of the working class are adversely affected by Luas strikes. Care to explain why that is?
Don’t equate the union struggle for minimum wage, 40 hour weeks, health & safety, healthcare, education, pension etc etc etc back in the day, with the Luas driver actions through SIPTU today. Just in case you didn’t know, here are the benefits enjoyed by Luas drivers today, mentioned elsewhere on this very thread:
Salary
€ Tram Driver
Induction A (26 weeks) 32,311 + 6.5% Bonus
Induction B (26 weeks) 34,106 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 1 35,901 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 2 36,978 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 3 37,625 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 4 38,189 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 5 38,666 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 6 40,213 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 8 41,017 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 9 42,247 + 6.5% Bonus
Salary Scales do not reflect the maximum 6.5% bonus which is payable in
December annually.
• Average working hours 35.45
• OT Rates apply on certain days
• Pension scheme
• Partner pension in the event of death
• Death in service lump sum payment
• Income protection
• Other: Free parking, Laya Employee Assistance
Programme, Free Luas travel & Nurse on site annually
Not too shabby, is it? Don’t insult me or anyone else by trying to tell us this is little more than greed, plain and simple.
Bus drivers is on €10,000 less then a Luas driver!!!!
North county kildare is surprisingly unaffected by this dispute..
Wally must be such a laugh at parties
@TheCredibleHulk
Well, he IS a clown…
Maybe the train drivers and bus drivers should be on a parity with the Luas drivers. Reduce costs to the overall workers using public transport.
The Romans, he doesn’t support the Romans because what have the Romans ever done for us…
Talking of nurses. Agency nurse works 3hrs Fri to Sunday gross pay € 1100. Nobody ever seems to publish theirs rates for extras either sleep ins etc. Sorry but they ain’t poorly paid not by a long shot.
Jesus spud calm down
Anthony, You can’t be talking about nurses getting well paid…E28 an hour sounds ok to me though!!But it’s not PC to question it…that’s why you got red thumbs and that’s why I’ll get them too….
If an employee is refusing to do their job, shouldn’t they be served a warning and then sacked if they are continuing to neglect their duties? There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of those who’d gladly step in their place – for the equal or even lesser pay.
If anotherr operator took over the contract to supply transport services firstly they should sack all striking workers secondly draw up new t&c and advertise the positions
AAA would disagree about the direction of 2 flys crawling a wall they’d create a row in a empty room
Wally, I would suggest solidarity with all those groups except the Luas drivers who do not work hard, do not save lives, do not go to college for years to train for their job and are just a bunch of opportunistic parasitic wan###s. Soon they will see they have been played for suckers by Siptu who really want a precedent so that they can bargain for a ridiculous increase for the bus and train drivers. If the Luas drivers fail then no one at Siptu headquarters is going to suffer.
Stop putting teachers and nurses in the same sentence as Lias drivers wally
Clearly most people don’t agree with you there wally – does that not suggest something??
Enough is enough, P45 time
surely transdev are the contractors and have to achieving specific KPIs as part of their service obligations. if striking workers are the cause, and the current situation of being unprofitable will get worse, should transdev not try to get out of the contract by not operating. from the govts perspective, we outsource to transdev to provide the drivers, if they cannot achieve that, surely we can put it out to tender again – the drivers will be free to apply for the new role given their “training” at the new rates, and we can get back to using the trams rather than waiting for the button to be pressed.
Reagan sacked the Air Traffic Controllers in America. Transdev…do not give in. Commuters won’t mind taking the bus while a new batch of drivers are trained up.
Transdev needs to start an immediate recruitment drive for trainee drivers! The public will accept these days of dispute only if they know that the company is taking remedial action to prevent such occurrences down the road! The striking drivers have NO support from the general public.
Ok brain dead just recruit another 2,000 staff. You think there are no legal legislation in company law to protect against Regan style sackings. Luas hires the staff it’s closed indefinitely tru court cases injunctions etc. When finally resolved they have 2000 new staff who are let go. They file for unfair dismissal so company hit big in pocket so in the end the company hikes up fares dramatically so the braindeads on this site on the moan again. This is what your pathetic idea would most likely achieve would you say all management be sacked so. No not likely. And the clowns looking to take their jobs why didn’t they apply originally for the position or are they the 1′s who are luas interview rejects. Fuc r’s
How long can the strikers take the stress of knowing that the ENTIRE NATION is against their ridiculous pay claims! They should do the right thing: go back to work or resign! A bunch of jokers holding fellow-workers to random.
Someone sounds upset. Has it finally dawned in his big thick skull that he won’t be getting his bonus this year?
Advertise their jobs. See how quickly they back down.
Must be on a decent wage already if they can afford all these strike days.
Lads, just give up already. You’re never going to win, you’re only digging a bigger hole for yourselves every day you do this.
This is getting absolutely ridiculous, plenty of people out there that would love a job and are more than qualified enough to drive a tram along a track. I think it’s time transdev pulled their finger out and showed these clowns the door. Do the drivers not realise that very few people are on their side now, all they’re succeeding in doing is annoying the populace of Dublin that use the Luas as well as making sure that their employer won’t negotiate with the proverbial gun to their heads.
Bunch of useless w@nkers! Automate the tram system and hand out their P45s
How can it be automated?take Amiens Street the tram gets a proceed but there’s a bus in the yellow box (as is usual)so the tram goes into the bus,you really are a muppet
Billy. Technology, tram wouldnt move of theres an obstruction. Tram waits until way is clear and the signal says go. If too many obstructions in yellow box, that a traffic corps issue. The technology is there and the staff that will manage it will be paid more than the luas drivers would get even if they were paid their full claim…ironic innit.
They have automated trams on Nurnberg U barn, I know of no Street trams that are automated,the technology is not there,it could work in Germany because they have traffic police but not in this lawless city
5 years wait and see. You will all be Street cleaners.
Billy, the muppets are a fun, charming, endearing gang. To be compared to one is a lovely compliment. Thank you :) As for the Luas joystick pushers, there’s nothing endearing about them at all.
This is just so beyond a joke now, its actually just insulting! Look at what they get, which I lifted below straight from the Transdev website.
You just have to look at the Role requirements, “Thorough knowledge of tram driving techniques”… Well I have had a Playstation which I have been playing successfully since the first version in 1996. Seen as I have been easily able to upgrade my abilities to new versions (some of which had new buttons I might add) shows that I can change to suit the evolving tramming techniques..
I’m a shoe in! Along with you know.. About 75% of the adult population in Ireland!
Also Free parking!! I’m sold!
The Role
To contribute to the running of the Transdev Dublin Light Rail services
through the effective and safe driving of trams. Please note that your driving
duties may not be exclusive to Tram driving.
Entry Requirements
Knowledge, Experience, Qualifications and Training
• Full clean driving licence
• Must be capable of effective written and verbal communication.
• Knowledge of the Transdev Codes of Conduct requirements.
• Capable of retaining aptitude, skills & knowledge in order to participate
in the programme of continuous assessment described in the Transdev
Safety Manual.
• Thorough knowledge of tram driving techniques, rules, instructions and
Company standards. Able to achieve competence in Personal Track
Safety (PTS).
Salary
€ Tram Driver
Induction A (26 weeks) 32,311 + 6.5% Bonus
Induction B (26 weeks) 34,106 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 1 35,901 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 2 36,978 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 3 37,625 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 4 38,189 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 5 38,666 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 6 40,213 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 8 41,017 + 6.5% Bonus
Year 9 42,247 + 6.5% Bonus
Salary Scales do not reflect the maximum 6.5% bonus which is payable in
December annually.
• Average working hours 35.45
• OT Rates apply on certain days
• Pension scheme
• Partner pension in the event of death
• Death in service lump sum payment
• Income protection
• Other: Free parking, Laya Employee Assistance
Programme, Free Luas travel & Nurse on site annually
Wow
Poor buggars, must be hard struggling through life on those terms .
Just under 3k bonus a year for nothing on year 1….
And if the drivers had no job they be blaming the country for being in a mess.
Greed never wins be glad with what u have…
A basic computer with a simple program could replace each of them.
Show them the door and advertise their jobs. There’s so little support for their actions I’ve no doubts the jobs would be filled in no time. Greedy sods
The “jobs for the lads” mentality seems to be prevailing among SIPTU/the drivers, with the actual provision of public transport not even registering.
Sack them all now. Que of people ready to take on the job !!
I would love the job.sitting on me arse and getting the wage they are allready getting never mind the pay rise they are looking for.I would Ask them to look at a mirror and say to themself how lucky iam in this job!!.look at how many of there friends are out of work.
Where’s the irony in what they’re doing relating to the drivers? This guy seems to come from the Alanis Morissette school or irony.
Sack the lot of them, they’re a disgrace.
No other option.. My ar$e shower of greedy f*ck$. Hope every single one of them is sacked. Absolute joke it’s a gloried scaleletrix pushing and pulling a lever they should be grateful that they already get paid an astronomical wage for such a low skilled job.
Siptu are a poxi union
Choo Choo to hatch 42 ……see if they’ll enjoy taking a ticket down the dole and wait in the queue
What is the legal stance on transdev being allowed to sack and re hire? I this something they are allowed do?
Fire them all and recruit again. Driving a tram isn’t rocket science. I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who would gladly work for less than what the LUAS employees are currently being paid even.
self entitled C-U-next-tuesdays is what they are
Transdev would want to grow a pair of balls now and closedown this circus.
I’m sick of this boll*x . The money they are looking for is an absolute disgrace . It’s a low-medium skilled job . There’s lads out there that do a 4 year trade or 4 year college degree that wouldn’t get the €€€€ there looking for .
I can’t put it into words how much it is annoying me without cursing .
dont need these jerks….give them their cash, change their contract to 12 months then put in the automated trams
It just crashed outside my job in Belgard, talk about taking extremes for an early strike.
Ah would they f*ck off like…I mean since these strikes have been happening the frequency of the Luas which was questionable at times, seems to have taken a dip and the wait times seem to get longer every morning waiting on one.
I was on the Luas this morning at Red Cow and stopped there for about 3-4 mins waiting on the new driver to come out and take over. They don’t even have the decency to be on time when they know full well when their tram is due like!!
P45′s would want to be handed out fairly soon!!!
Ciara, Youre dead right. Ive noticed the same thing. I guess management dont want to upset the drivers by tackling them on their performance, thats sad. Ive complained about the waiting time for the next driver. Just a standard response from their customer care line and same problem day after day. I think its Luas drivers are managing the management. Its really screwed up.
Shams!
I cant understand why transdev is willing to negotiate up to a 3% increase given the wages the staff are on. Transdev should be trimming back in salary costs so they can provide a more cost effective service. If Transdev cant get people to work despite salaries being over inflated, then the contract needs to a tougher company.
SIPTU may as well SIP T, for all the good they are…..
Irish Luas drivers have done incalculable damage to their reputation in the eyes of the public. It is a self-inflicated reputational wound from which they may never recover.
@John Reid. *self-inflicted.
Do what present Reagan did he sacked the air traffic controllers when they tryed two ground the planes just bring the army in until they train new drivers Shame On ALL OF THEM
@Anita Jenkins. Great suggestion, Anita. A strong Taoiseach would do that. Transdev would immediately draft in new drivers from England or elsewhere. It would solve the problem in one fell swoop (as Ronald Reagan did), and ensure that the Irish public never again has to suffer a Luas strike all because of the greed and vanity of the trade unions.
‘tried to’
These guys are an absolute disgrace! I shouldn’t have bothered with 5 years of 3rd level education and just got a job as a Luas driver instead!
You should have got out out this banana republic,do u really believe Irish Employer’s give a flying f@ck about your qualifications?
Transdev should import drivers from the UK and France for the days the drivers strike. Would cost more but still a lot cheaper than giving in to their greedy demands.
Remember to give your next luas driver an earful, every day until this is over. Utter disgrace. The greed of these “drivers”. Sack the lot of them.
Transdev employees can GFYS’s. Idiots!!!!!!
It’s time to replace Transdev with a service provider who can actually fulfill this contract. Absolute waste of the tax payer’s money leftover after FG/labour filled their friends and their own pockets
IDEA! Sack the drivers and employ all these spare au pairs that will be coming on stream. Offer them 25% over minimum wage plus a bunk in the depot. They can learn English and Irish from the stop announcements along the way! Simples!
I heard on the radio that SIPTU are in favour of the Luas being bought back under the management of the CIE group. In fact this could be their ulterior motive for the strikes.
In that case, where do SIPTU see Luas drivers in comparison to bus drivers? Driving a bus seems to require more skill than driving a tram.
Leave them alone they will strike themselves out of a job quick enough as they don’t have the intelligence to work out the how multinationals operate.
Should be a protest March by public finishing at Siptu’s doors to show them that do not have public support
Hold the good people’s of ireland to ramson again ..spend the day in a irish hospital with a nurse who get less paye per hour than you …grow up and be happy you have a income each week …
Why don’t we gave all the money back to the employers. You have to ask the question why are so many so called Irish people so against other Irish people trying to get a better wage.? Surely it’s better to reward the people who make it a success. Can’t understand why you want the employer to make even more money. So, to the casual reader, have a guess as to how many commentators belong to the Transdev people.
We belong to the fare-paying public, you fool. We know greed when we see it.
I’m against people getting paid a proposed €50k a year for driving a giant skalextric
have your say