ISME CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN OVER RAIL DISPUTE
A business representative group is calling for legislation to prevent strikes in essential services.
ISME is condemning the forthcoming strike at Irish Rail saying businesses are trying to recover from the recession and cannot afford the considerable cost in man hours, trade and productivity due to the withdrawal of necessary social and commercial services.
The group chief executive is accusing SIPTU and the NBRU of blackmailing the government with the impending five days of industrial action – the first of which is on Sunday next.
The strikes are over planned pay cuts at Irish Rail.
Mark Fielding says issues should have been ironed out through negotiation.
“Just trying to run an economy and coming out of a recession, small and medium businesses are struggling to make ends meet” he said.
“We just don’t need this type of hassle”.
“We would have thought that any of these type of problems should have been ironed out through negotiation – not on a picket line certainly”.
“And in this day and age we would have thought that that would have been the way to go” he added.
