Ireland: Strike-hit firms say send in army

IRELAND: Strike-hit firms say send in army

Employers in Ireland have called for the army to be brought in to run the public transport system hit by a wave of bus and rail strikes.

A spokesperson for the Irish employers' federation said the republic faced "an emergency" and that "any reasonable person ... would understand that desperate situations need desperate measures. We cannot tolerate a situation where a small group of workers in a monopoly are capable of stopping the economy."

A lightning strike began in Cork on March 28 over a dispute about the use of contract workers. The strike quickly spread across the country.

Most inter-city and suburban trains were cancelled because of action by track inspectors. Secondary pickets brought the capital's light rail system, which normally carries 80,000 passengers a day, to an almost complete standstill.

Meanwhile, a Dublin bus strike entered its second day, affecting 200,000 commuters. The national bus service, Bus Eireann, was also severely disrupted after an sympathy stoppage in support of the Dublin drivers.

From GLW issue 400