Dublin Bus drivers vote to accept 11.6% pay rise deal

Dublin Bus drivers and staff have voted to accept a new pay deal officially brining industrial action at the company to an end.

On Friday evening Siptu and NBRU members voted to endorse the pay deal negotiated between union representatives and management at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last week.

It clears the way for a pay increase of 11.6 per cent over the next 15 months.

The National Bus and Rail Union NBRU accepted the deal by 79 per cent. Siptu drivers narrowly voted in its favour by 58 per cent to 42 per cent. All other grades at the union passed the deal by majorities of between 70 to 90 per cent.

NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary said: “Despite reservations on some of the issues contained in the proposals, our members have decided, after eight long years of pay stagnation which included pay cuts, to accept the offer on pay proposed by the WRC.”

Siptu transport, energy, aviation and construction division organiser Owen Reidy said the result brings the long running dispute at the company to an end, and with it, eight scheduled days of work stoppages during October.”

However, despite the resolution, Mr Reidy took the opportunity to warn of further problems at the company “as long as the Government and the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, in particular, fail to substantially increase the subvention for public transport in line with other EU countries”.