Despite hopes that there may be gave been an end to the strike action on the Luas tram system in Dublin drivers have once again taken action this week – with more strike days to come in the coming weeks.
The latest action took place on Friday 13th May with two more days of action on 26th and 27th May. There will also be six hour stoppages on 8th, 9th and 10th June between 1600 and 2200 (with the timing of these altered as it is the start of the state examination timetable and Siptu – the union controlling the drivers – don’t want to cause any disruption to students) with four hour stoppages preceding this on 2nd, 3rd and 7th June.
The dispute really does seem to nowhere near a resolution with the continued sniping from both sides to the press about how it is the other side’s fault. Drivers still seem to be demanding massive pay increases with tram operator Transdev continuing to state the huge demands are unrealistic. It is believed that if a resolution is not found to the dispute soon that there will be “more serious, unspecified, consequences for both sides”.