[Article] Rail drivers angry at 'safety pressure', here we go again

[Mark Gleeson]

And yes Iarnrod Eireann under the 2005 Rail Safety bill can do random drug and alcohol tests on all operations grade staff, yes the drivers already have an annual set of rules exams and there is the annual medical and the drivers voted on that some years back

Talk about creating a fuss over accepted proceedures which are inforceable in Irish law

Originally Posted by Irish Independent

Rail drivers angry at 'safety pressure'

IARNROD Eireann's drivers fear a stricter new safety regime being introduced for recently purchased high-speed trains could lead to staff penalties and put jobs at risk.

The drivers have been issued with nine different manuals following the purchase of 150 new high-speed intercity coaches, the Labour Court was told.

Siptu and the NBRU claim a number of the new safety standards introduced without consultation were "significantly impacting" on the drivers' careers.

The unions told the court "there was a perception that the new safety standards would have a detrimental impact on job security".

One of the safety measures, Standard 23, "is known to the locomotive drivers as a point system in which a driver would have a number of points allocated against him over his driving career.

"A driver after reaching 25 points could find his driving career in serious jeopardy," the unions told a hearing earlier this month.

The changes also involve a new qualification for the drivers, more random medicals, yearly written exams and a further safety standard on drugs and alcohol in the workplace.

© Irish Independent 2006
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=13612