Drivers operating the LUAS light rail system in Dublin have been subjected to a campaign of media vilification during a bitter industrial dispute with their employer, Transdev, over a pay claim.
The approximately 130 SIPTU members have conducted a series of 48, 24 and 4-hour work stoppages in pursuit of their claim for a pay increase that would bring their wages into line with Irish Rail train drivers.
In response to the drivers’ legally authorized industrial action there have been open calls in the media for their sacking, the media tone epitomised by one former Irish Times journalist taking to social media to call for a ‘Ronald Reagan’ solution of ‘sack them all’ or ‘bring in the army to drive the trams’. Workers’ Party Dublin North West representative, Jimmy Dignam, said:
“Transdev have succesfully manipulated the public mind into seeing them as a struggling company, burdened by unreasonable pay claims. But what we can be sure of is that the shareholders are getting their fair share – why not the workers?”
He added: “If Transdev are not willing to pay workers a decent wage to do a valuable job, then let us do them a favour; end the state’s contract with Transdev, and take LUAS provision into public ownership, a valuable asset we’d be happy to manage, pay workers a decent wage, and improve the financial sustainability of Ireland’s public transport system as a whole.”
