Strike action threat could derail golf fans heading to The Open in Portrush
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) has said strike action is planned for Friday and Saturday, July 18-19, for some of its members, which could halt Translink's rail service to the town.
Strike action is part of an ongoing pay dispute with Translink. An offer to settle, received on Wednesday from Translink, was rejected by members, with services across Northern Ireland set to be affected.
Members who work in supervisor grades (including railway controllers), as well as clerical, management, professional and technical grades (MPT), overwhelmingly voted for both strike action and action short of a strike.
Within supervisor grades at NI Railways, over 90% voted in favour of strike action, with similar results in other areas, including Ulsterbus and management grades at NI Railways, with over 80% support.
'We are keen to meet Translink to resolve the ongoing disputes for all our members,' said TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust.
'However, so far, the company has only made an inadequate offer to the supervisor grades and completely ignored our clerical and MPT members. This is not the way to resolve a pay dispute.
'I met the Infrastructure Minister, Liz Kimmins, last week to impress the urgency of this issue.
'Regrettably, it seems that both Translink and the minister are sitting on their hands and hoping that these disputes will go away. That's simply not going to happen.
'Ultimately the responsibility for any disruption during The Open rests with Translink and the minister.
'All we are asking for is the same deal that has been offered to other staff in Translink. The company is trying to fob us off with less, but TSSA members have shown, with their overwhelming support in the ballot for strike action, that they are not prepared to accept that.
'TSSA urges Translink to return to the table immediately with a fair and meaningful offer for all our members. Otherwise, we'll see them on the picket line.'
If the industrial action goes ahead, it would involve widespread disruption to rail services, not just in Portrush.
Who is Rory McIlroy and what is golf's Career Grand Slam?
Translink has planned special buses and trains to Portrush, while maintaining approximately 13,000 services a day across the network.
The first official practice day at The Open is Sunday, with the four-day championship teeing-off on Thursday.
About 300 Translink workers are in the union, which issued a warning last month that events such as The Open could be impacted if members take industrial action due to no settlement having been agreed.
A Translink spokesperson said: 'We continue to engage with our trade union TSSA to reach an agreement that will not impact passenger services.'
'The union and Translink are still in negotiations in the hope a resolution can still be found ahead of next week's tournament.
'Thousands of golf fans are expected to travel from the Republic of Ireland, with the more frequent train service to and from Dublin making transportation to and from the venue easier.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Rory McIlroy eyes overdue win after moving into share of lead at Scottish Open
The world number two landed five birdies, and just one bogey, to leave him on 11-under par for the tournament, and a share of the overnight lead with American Chris Gotterup. England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Marco Penge are two shots back following rounds of 69, tied for third with Americans Wyndham Clark and Jake Knapp. McIlroy landed his first birdie at the par-five third before dropping a shot at the seventh. However, he bounced back by picking up a shot on the next hole before further birdies at the 10th and par-three 14th. The Northern Irishman appeared in slight trouble on the par-five 16th after a wayward drive ended in the deep rough. But a beautiful approach allowed him to roll in a straight uphill birdie putt. He set himself up with another birdie chance at the following par three only to see his putt sail agonisingly wide. A perfect 340-yard tee shot at the concluding hole put him in the driving seat once more, but again his birdie attempt rolled narrowly past the hole. However, McIlroy's encouraging performance – with clear signs of him being back at his best – comes at a crucial time with The Open at Royal Portrush to follow next week. It also marks a significant improvement on McIlroy's form since he won the Masters in April to complete the Grand Slam. A moving day 66 to tie the lead for Rory ✍️#GenesisScottishOpen | #RolexSeries — DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 12, 2025 And he said on Sky Sports: 'It is my first realistic chance to win after the Masters. 'I have had a great season but yes, and I have said this before, when you do something you that have dreamt of for your whole life, and then do it, it was a huge moment in my life and career. 'I just need that little bit of time, and to be back here for the last couple of weeks and digest all of it, I feel like I came here for this tournament with renewed enthusiasm and excitement for the rest of the year.' World number 158 Gotterup equalled the course record with nine birdies in a bogey-free 61 on Friday to start the third day two shots clear. However, he will start the final day on level terms with McIlroy following a level-par round featuring two birdies and the same number of bogeys.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Carlos Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner is the new Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal, writes MATTHEW LAMBWELL
Carlos or Jannik? The Spanish showman or the Italian ice man? It is time to pick your side, because the next great rivalry in tennis is upon us. For four years Alcaraz and Sinner have duelled, but it was not until last month at the French Open that they met in a Grand Slam final. The result was extraordinary — five-and-a-half hours in which the sport was played at a level never before seen. If that was the birth of the rivalry, then today comes its baptism here at the cathedral of tennis. Alcaraz, 22, is the favourite, having won the last two titles here and five matches in a row against 23-year-old Sinner. But what that night in Paris told us is that when these two collide with their best tennis, there is not much to choose between them. The match will be decided by a point here and there. Sinner and Alcaraz are the second duo in the Open Era to contest the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same year — Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer did so three times from 2006-08. Whoever wins, it will be the seventh Slam in a row these two have carved up between them. If one of them wins the US Open, as is very much expected, it will be the first time two men have won all the majors across two years since — you guessed it — Federer and Nadal in 2006 and 2007. The comparison is becoming impossible to escape. Sinner's unflappable, graceful exterior owes much to the example of Federer. He is Italian but from San Candido in the north, and in temperament more similar to his Swiss neighbours, just 100 miles to the west, than his more hot-blooded countrymen further towards Italy's boot. Alcaraz, of course, grew up idolising Nadal and plays with the same pulsating physicality. How desperately tennis needed these two to emerge. They are carrying the men's game into a new era — two warheads the sport can bring to the battle for eyeballs and attention. In looking ahead to the final, Alcaraz was happy to embrace that responsibility. 'The things we are doing right now are great for tennis,' he said. 'We are fighting to engage more people to watch tennis, fighting for tennis to be bigger. 'We are still really young, so I just hope to keep doing the right things for the next five or 10 years, just to bring our rivalry to the same table as those players.' Sinner, typically, was more wary of embracing the comparison to the giants of the past. 'You cannot compare what the Big Three did for 15-plus years,' said the No 1 seed. 'Of course, we find ourselves again in this position, the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final. I believe it's good for the sport. If we can make that happen for the next three, four years, then people can think about it.' So, who is going to win? Both players have had their struggles this fortnight. Sinner was two sets down to Grigor Dimitrov before a tear of the Bulgarian's pectoral muscle ushered him through. It was an enormous stroke of fortune. Alcaraz was taken to five sets by Fabio Fognini in the opening round and has dropped three more sets since then. But in the quarter-finals and semis these two have looked like something close to their best. Sinner comes out on top in almost all the stats — but then again he always does. He is the more consistent performer, whereas Alcaraz needs to face the best to play his best. It is revealing that the Spaniard slumped during the three months in which Sinner was serving an anti-doping ban. Of course, the spectre of the French Open final will loom over Centre Court. Alcaraz came back from two sets to love down in Paris and from 5-3, 40-0 down in the fourth set. Alcaraz can take huge confidence from that but so, too, can Sinner. He, of course, could easily have won and in mounting a comeback in that fifth set he answered to some extent the questions about his physicality — in his career Sinner has lost all seven of the matches which have lasted longer than three hours and 50 minutes. 'I'm not thinking I have an advantage mentally because of that match,' said Alcaraz. 'I expect Sunday to be at the limit, on the line.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Iga Swiatek hits out at media after winning first Wimbledon title: ‘Leave me alone'
New Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek has hit out at the media's coverage of her this season, saying: 'Leave me alone.' Swiatek swept aside America's Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in only 57 minutes to win her first Wimbledon title and sixth grand slam in all, cementing her place as the best player of the current generation. But the Pole has come under scrutiny this season after a dip in form and a slide down the rankings, following the turmoil of her one-month ban from the sport last year. Swiatek had not won an event for 13 months before triumphing on Centre Court, and her decision to switch coach to Wim Fissette late last year was one that was questioned at the time. Asked whether she'd answered her critics, Swiatek replied: 'Honestly, things that we as public people and as athletes, we can really react to everything, and we've got to just focus on ourselves. Sometimes it's easier to do that, sometimes it's harder. 'And for sure, the past few months, how the media sometimes described me – and I've got to say, unfortunately, Polish media – how they treated me and my team, it wasn't really pleasant. So I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job, because obviously you can see that we know what we're doing, and I have the best people around me. 'I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it's my own process and my own life and my own career. So hopefully I'm gonna have the freedom from them as well to let me do my job.' Swiatek maintained her unblemished record in grand slam finals, making it six titles and becoming the first Polish player, male or female, to win a Wimbledon singles trophy. By adding the grass-court title to her four French Open crowns and one US Open trophy she has also now won slams on all the surfaces. She had never previously been beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and she said: 'It's something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself. 'I think the fact that it's on grass, for sure it makes it more special, I would say, and more unexpected. So it feels like the emotions are bigger because, at Roland Garros, I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year. Here, I wasn't sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.' Anisimova's comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons. She came into the final off the back of a semi-final victory over Aryna Sabalenka but from the start appeared paralysed by nerves. Anisimova's serve deserted her and there were many more errors than winners off the ground. The crowd, who had paid more than £300 each per ticket, willed the American to find a foothold in the contest but Swiatek was utterly ruthless. Another treat for the Pole was receiving the trophy from the Princess of Wales. 'On court she just congratulated (me),' said Swiatek. 'She told me some nice stuff about the performance. Later on, I don't remember really because I was too overwhelmed. 'I didn't want to do any faux pas. I wanted to behave well. Overall the process of getting the trophy from Her Royal Highness was something surreal. Since I'm a kid, honestly I'm a big fan of the Royal family. It was amazing.'
