More than 1,000 drivers at Dublin Bus voted by an overwhelming majority tonight in favour of industrial action over planned cutbacks at the company that will see 120 buses withdrawn from service and the loss of 290 jobs.
The drivers, represented by Siptu, voted by 81 per cent in favour of the action.
John McCamley, vice-president of Siptu’s Dublin Bus branch, said the union would be meeting next week to decide on what form the industrial action would take. He refused to rule out strike action.
“We’re not ruling anything in or anything out. The company has said they will meet us but they have not withdrawn their plan to make 160 drivers redundant. They haven’t taken that off the table,” he said.
“They’ve already pushed through cuts in the Nitelink service. Drivers are afraid they’ll push the redundancies through.”
The union plans a protest at the Dáil next Wednesday.
The other main trade union at company, the National Bus and Rail Union, began balloting their members at Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann on industrial action last week. A spokesman for the union said the result of the ballot would not be known until Monday.
At a protest outside the Department of Transport yesterday, drivers handed a letter to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey. They claim the planned cutbacks would wreck any attempt to provide a coherent transport system for the capital as well as destroying livelihoods.