Things set to get much worse for commuters as strikes across all transport sectors loom

Yesterday morning saw the first of two planned strikes by workers at Irish Rail as they stopped working from 6am-9am in a move that inconvenienced over 40,000 passengers. It also disrupted the travel plans of over 5,000 passengers in Kildare.

The Irish Indpendent today report that there could be further strikes planned, with the possibility of a full day strike also being discussed internally. There is another three hour strike planned for 6 November, but a full day strike would cause chaos on the commuter routes.

There may also be strike action called at Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus as another row over pay has broken out there. Dermot O'Leary, General Secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers' Union(NBRU), claims commuters could be on the verge of 'a winter of discontent'.

"Shakespeare's phrase 'Now is the winter of discontent' is perfectly suitable to what is going on in these companies" he said.

Yesterday's strike action by Irish Rail workers cost the company an estimated €500,000 and it seems the impasse between the NBRU and Irish Rail is only getting worse.