Dublin Bus drivers accept changes

SIPTU MEMBERS at Dublin Bus yesterday voted to accept changes in work practice and cost-cutting measures proposed by the company.

Some 56 per cent of drivers voted to accept Labour Court recommendations on their dispute, after receiving clarification on cost-saving issues.

However, the union warned that major problems remained. “The devil is in the detail,” said Siptu Branch organiser Willie Noone. He urged the company to ensure that recommendations were implemented “in a manner that minimises the erosion of working conditions”.

Mr Noone warned that any further cuts to the Dublin Bus fleet “will be met by sustained opposition from Siptu members”.

The threat of industrial action by Dublin Bus drivers has not yet been ruled out, as the result of a ballot of drivers from the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) will not be known until today. The possibility of industrial action by other grades at Dublin Bus, such as engineering operatives, still remains, “until compulsory lay-offs are taken off the table by management”, according to Siptu.

Last week both the NBRU and Siptu called off the planned strike action which was to begin last weekend.

Dublin Bus deferred for a week the introduction of cuts which were due to be introduced last Sunday to facilitate clarification on the Labour Court’s earlier ruling, under which it had recommended that Dublin Bus go ahead with plans to take 120 buses out of service. Mr Noone last night described the result of the ballot “as a progressive decision by drivers, who remain willing to fight to maintain their conditions of employment and job security”.