Hauliers plan action at Dublin
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• A summer of discontent faces Dublin hauliers following the failure of a port forum to resolve opening hours issues.
A hauliers' strike in midDecember was averted by intervention from the Irish Road Haulage Association. But a forum designed to resolve these issues held its sixth and final meeting on 5 April with no solution in sight.
Hauliers claim handling delays have worsened in the port, where volume has doubled in recent years. Shippers operate conflicting opening times and no common paper work system exists for container handling.
Ciaran Dowling, national secretary of the 19HA, says he will not be attending any more mass meetings of hauliers. "The issues have not been resolved at all," he adds. We tried to warn and advise, but nothing has been resolved."
Peripheral issues such as hot food and toilet facilities for drivers have been dealt with by the port authorities. But there has been no progress on the core issues of differing opening times and lunch-time closures.
• An unofficial four-day strike by Dublin deep sea dockers ended on 10 April to allow for a ballot over the next two weeks on strike action. This dispute is over the use of new recruits.