Luas drivers believe that historically they have been grossly underpaid for the role they perform in stressful and demanding environments.

Driver and Siptu shop steward Richard McCarthy says that from his cab he operates routes that vary from areas thronged with pedestrians and other traffic to very isolated areas.

He says there is also an “element of danger”.

He says drivers have been attacked as they sought to fix door problems in their trams.

He said some have been threatened with knives while verbal abuse was not uncommon.

“We are portrayed as people who just push a lever back and forth. However the actual job itself is involved and can be quite complex.

There is quite a complex signalling system. It is the driver who operates the points; they are not automatic.

“When a tram fails in the city, it is the driver who has the job of coupling trams together, not a technician. The driver’s role is much broader than just driving.”

Mr McCarthy argues that the salary scales, which run to about €42,000 after nine years, do not reflect the remuneration required for the role and responsibility of a Luas driver.

He and his colleagues will stage the first strike on the light rail system tomorrow and on Friday as part of a campaign for improvements in terms and conditions.

Up to 90,000 people will be affected daily.

Two more stoppages are planned for next week while strikes in March are also likely.

The dispute has already been through the industrial relations machinery without any success.

Staff rejected a Labour Court recommendation by over 90 per cent before Christmas and talks at the Workplace Relations Commission a number of weeks ago were also unsuccessful.

Raised eyebrows

Pay movements in the private sector range from 2-3 per cent on average.

Mr McCarthy says the background to the stoppages is that the company has simply not been willing to engage meaningfully with the union on any cost- increasing claim over the past 18 months. Luas operator Transdev disputes this.

It maintains the problem relates to the scale of increases being sought. It argues that if the level of demands were modified, it would respond.

Transdev managing director Gerry Madden told staff yesterday in a letter the Siptu claims “do not provide a credible starting basis for negotiations and until they are reviewed we will not find a resolution”.

However, the company has argued its staff enjoy very favourable terms and conditions.

It maintained it lost €700,000 last year and was predicting further losses for 2016.

It has contended the Siptu claims would cost it €30 million over the period of its contract to run the light-rail service.

The union maintains the contract between State body Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Transdev to operate Luas is “flawed”.

It says if the revenue from passenger numbers was available to the company and did not go to TII, the money would be there to meet claims.

The Luas system has been running for nearly 12 years. Siptu maintains many issues relate to legacy problems.

Mr McCarthy maintains that when it was first introduced the government of the day feared the Luas system could be a white elephant and consequently the aim was to save on costs.

He says salaries were initially pitched far too low and a no-strike clause put in place.

He says staff only have an opportunity to deal with terms and conditions in collective agreements which are negotiated every five years or so.

He says at the first renegotiation of this deal, the main focus of the staff was to have the no-strike clause removed.

He says it also coincided with the economic crash and there have been no increases in core pay since the last national wage agreement in 2008/2009.

He says pay increases for staff came about mainly through increments as they moved up a nine-point scale.

However, for those there from the start, this meant the top of the scale was reached in 2012.

Mr McCarthy argues the firm wants a new collective agreement which would link pay increases to the consumer price index.

He maintains as this is close to zero it could leave staff having no opportunity for pay rises until 2020.

He says the Siptu claim covered areas such as pay, pensions, sick leave, rostering, retirement and annual leave.

Pay and holidays lost

“There is a path forward to resolve this dispute within the financial constraints of the operating contract and in a way that protects and enhances terms and conditions over the lifetime of the contract.”

He said that many staff would lose four days ’ pay as a result of the planned stoppages.

The company has said it will see staff lose their annual bonuses of about 6 per cent.