Just inside the gates of the Harristown bus depot, a dozen or so double-decker buses stood, immobile in the morning sun.
Beside them yesterday, about 100 drivers gathered in groups, cheering occasionally when passing trucks or cars indicated their support for their action.
Hanging on the gates amid the official Siptu and National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) placards were two handwritten signs proclaiming "No bullying" and "Bullying bosses".
Drivers on the picket line at Harristown maintain they are fighting attempts by Dublin Bus management to bully or force them into new rosters which would lengthen the working day for some by two to three hours.
They say they feel sorry for the estimated 60,000 passengers in Dublin affected by the industrial action, however, they argue they have no other choice. Drivers also believe it is possible this dispute could spread beyond Harristown to other garages.
The row centres on moves by the company to introduce two new cross-city routes, the 4A and the 128, without the agreement of the unions. The company wants drivers on some of these routes to start their shifts, take their breaks and finish in the city centre rather than at the Harristown facility nearly 11km (7 miles) away near the airport.
Dublin Bus has argued it has the backing of the Labour Court for the introduction of the new routes. It also says it is asking drivers at Harristown to do no more than their counterparts at six other garages - in that their starts, breaks and finishes can take place in either the city centre or the depot.
The unions argue there was a separate agreement reached to allow for the opening of Harristown in 2004 which stipulated that for routes operating from there, all starts, breaks and finishes would take place at the depot. This deal was never written down, however, and the company has argued no such terms were ever agreed.
The unions say Harristown, due to its distance from the city centre, should be considered differently to other depots. They argue that forcing drivers to travel back out to Harristown after ending their shift in the city centre to collect their cars before going home will inevitably lengthen the working day.
Only drivers recruited this year are being asked to drive the new routes under the revised rosters. Driver Eoin McCormack said ultimately all drivers would be affected and, in any event, junior staff should not have to work an additional two or three hours a week.
The dispute will not be easy to resolve. The issues have already been considered by both the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court and proposals which emerged were rejected by the drivers. There is no indication of any further intervention from these parties or the National Implementation Body.
The affected routes:
Dublin Bus has said that the following routes will have no service: 4, 13, 13a, 17a, 27b, 33b, 37x, 39x, 39b, 40, 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 70x, 83, 102, 105, 127, 129, 142, 230, 237, 238, 239.
The following routes will have a limited service during peak times but will operate normally during the off-peak: 27x, 37, 38a, 38c, 39, 41, 41c, 41x, 43, 70, 270.
Dublin Bus says a full list of areas and routes affected is available on www.dublinbus.ie or from its customer information line: (01) 873 4222
