Management at Irish Rail and unions will meet at the Workplace Relations Commission today, in a bid to avoid a planned strike by train drivers.

SIPTU and the NBRU are due to hold two three-hour work stoppages on Friday the 23rd of October and Friday the 6th of November, in a dispute over payment for past productivity.

Irish Rail says the action could cause serious disruption for passengers on all of its train services.

All parties are due to meet at the Workplace Relations Commission - formerly the Labour Relations Commission - at noon today.