The chairman of the Labour Court, Kevin Duffy, has intervened in the dispute at Dublin Bus which has left around 60,000 passengers, mainly in north and west Dublin, without services for the past two days.
Yesterday afternoon Mr Duffy invited Dublin Bus and the trade unions representing drivers, Siptu and the NBRU, to exploratory talks today.
He asked the parties to attend the meeting to ascertain whether the court could be of assistance.
Meanwhile the strike at the Harristown garage is set to continue for a third day.
Separately Dublin City Council said last night that bus lanes on the N2 (Finglas Road) from the M50 to Hart's Corner would be temporarily suspended for the duration of the dispute to help relieve traffic congestion in the Finglas area
The row at Dublin Bus centres around new rosters for drivers assigned to operate two new cross-city routes which the company wants to introduce.
Dublin Bus said last night it would attend the Labour Court talks. However a spokeswoman said the company still wanted the drivers to return to work and operate the new routes.
General secretary of the NBRU Michael Faherty and Siptu branch organiser Willie Noone both welcomed the intervention of the Labour Court.
Earlier yesterday the NBRU had written to Dublin Bus proposing a suspension of the new routes to allow for a joint request to the Labour Court to carry out a full investigation of the company's proposal.
Mr Faherty warned of the real risk that the dispute could escalate into an unofficial stoppage involving other Dublin garages.
Drivers at Harristown are to hold a protest march in Dublin city centre today, demonstrating outside Dublin Bus headquarters in O'Connell St, shortly after 11am. It is unclear whether drivers at other Dublin Bus depots in the city will attend this demonstration and whether it could disrupt other services.
