TSSA members vote overwhelmingly for industrial action at Translink

Hundreds of TSSA members at Northern Ireland Railways and Ulsterbus (operating as Translink) have given strong backing to industrial action in a dispute over pay – warning of a summer of major transport disruption.

The union had been asking members who work in Supervisor Grades (including railway controllers) as well as Clerical, Management, Professional & Technical Grades (MPT) whether they were prepared to take strike action and action short of a strike.   

Ballot results which closed at midday were decisive – with both action short of a strike and walkouts given strong support.  

Strike action within Supervisor grades at N I Railways reached over 90 per cent in favour, with similar results in other areas – including Ulsterbus and Management grades at N I Railways with over 80 per cent support.  

No dates have yet been set but the union says any action taken by members raises the prospect of services being reduced or failing to run at all in the face of action taken over the summer months. 

These disputes relate to:   

*For railway supervisors – contract disparity with the grades they supervise. TSSA members in this grade are in some cases currently paid less than the people that they supervise and are being asked to take on additional duties and changes to the way they work which would add more responsibility to their role.  

*Clerical and MPT grades – a failure to offer a satisfactory pay award for 2024. TSSA members are unhappy that Translink have offered members a worse deal than other grades within the business which falls well short of achieving parity with pay uplifts across the company.    

Commenting, TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said: 

“Our members have given an overwhelming mandate; they are fed up with broken promises and pay inequality. Translink’s refusal to offer a fair deal has left us no option but to prepare for industrial action. 

“Our union does not take this step lightly, but we have been left with no choice after other grades in Translink were offered the equivalent of a 5.77 per cent pay increase, yet our members are expected to accept less for doing critical work that keeps Northern Ireland moving. 

“Unless Translink and the Department for Infrastructure urgently step up with a meaningful offer, they will bear full responsibility for the disruption facing the public this summer.” 

ENDS    

Notes     

The ballots for industrial action opened on the 19th May and closed at noon on the 16th June 2025.  

TSSA represents Clerical, Administrative, Supervisory and Managerial staff in Ulsterbus and NI Railways, as well as Technical staff in NI Railways.       

Translink is the trading name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a public corporation that provides the public transport in the region.    

NITHCo responsibilities include holding and managing property assets and the oversight, in terms of support, control and supervision, of its private limited subsidiary companies: Ulsterbus, Metro and Northern Ireland (NI) Railways, trading jointly as Translink.   

TSSA is an independent trade union for the transport and travel industries. We have thousands of members right across the UK and Ireland, working for the railways and associated companies, as well as ferries, bus services and the travel trade.