Shane Ross and Bus Éireann at odds over restructuring plan

Minister for Transport Shane Ross and State-owned Bus Éireann were at odds last night over controversial plans to restructure the company, involving pay cuts, potential redundancies and outsourcing.

Bus Éireann said the Department of Transport had been fully informed of the cost-saving plans for its loss-making Expressway inter-regional services which were flagged in outline to unions earlier this week.

Sources close to the company said Mr Ross would have been aware of its plans to separate Expressway from the rest of Bus Éireann and that this would involve outsourcing, potential redundancies and job losses as well as reductions in terms and conditions for staff.

Sources told The Irish Times the chairman of Bus Éireann, Aidan Murphy, and its chief executive, Martin Nolan, met Mr Ross on September 12th and he was given a much fuller version of the restructuring plan than has been publicly released to date. The sources said the Minister did not object to the proposals.

Way forward

However, a spokeswoman for Mr Ross said the meeting with Bus Éireann on September 12th “did not discuss any detailed plan and at no stage did the Minister convey any agreement whatsoever”.

She said the Minister met the heads of various State bodies in his area, including Bus Éireann, on September 12th.

“A number of issues were discussed, including an outline for the future of the company and the need to find a reasonable way forward from its present loss-making position.

“The Minister was aware that the company is at an advanced stage in preparing a full plan, which he expects to be submitted to him shortly,” she said.

The Bus Éireann restructuring plan is one of the most controversial reform blueprints for a commercial State company in recent years. It has outraged trade unions, and the National Bus and Rail Union and Siptu are to ballot members for strike action in protest at the proposals.

Sources said Expressway would be established as a separate entity under the restructuring plan, although it would still be owned by Bus Éireann. It is understood the initiative would involve slimming the workforce at Expressway from about 550 to 400- 450.

Ruled out

While Bus Éireann has never introduced compulsory redundancies, sources said this had not been ruled out.

Bus Éireann raised the restructuring plan for Expressway at a meeting with trade unions last Wednesday. The unions have refused to engage on the issue.

The company also ruled out any pay increases for staff at Bus Éireann.

The company hopes that the unions will re-engage in talks on the restructuring proposals at a hearing in the Labour Court to which the pay rise issue has been referred.

Bus Éireann is understood to be losing about €500,000 per month – largely attributed to the Expressway service which is facing stiff competition from a growing number of low-cost coach operators. The company wants to implement measures that will generate about €7million a year in savings.

The sources said the company believed talks on the restructuring of Expressway could not go on indefinitely.

The board of Bus Éireann is to meet in six weeks’ time and it is understood it wants to incorporate the proposed €7 million savings into its budget for next year.

The Bus Éireann proposals could result in a second key public transport service being disrupted if workers decide to take industrial action. The separate Dublin Bus pay dispute is continuing, with passengers facing another day without buses today.