Bus Eireann drivers could join drivers in Dublin Bus and the DART services in industrial action over the next few weeks, the general secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers' Union, Mr Peter Bunting, has warned. He was speaking after NBRU members at Dublin Bus voted by more than seven to one yesterday for industrial action in pursuit of a 20 per cent pay claim.
The union is seeking a similar increase for its members in Bus Eireann, but is awaiting a Labour Court recommendation before deciding whether to hold a strike ballot. A date for industrial action will probably be set early next week.
DART drivers are in a separate dispute over the introduction of trainee drivers to the service and its extension to Greystones, which has already been deferred twice because of industrial relations problems.
The DART drivers have been awarded £8,000 each by the Labour Court as part of a compensation package for changes in the service. However, 35 train drivers at Connolly Station received £11,000 each last January for agreeing to forgo their right of progression on to the DART system, and it is unlikely the 47 drivers on the DART will settle for less.
The company had accused the drivers of holding the travelling public in Greystones to ransom and says it plans to introduce the changes from September 6th.
If a strike takes place it will be impossible for Iarnrod Eireann to provide a rail service for Dublin commuters. While Bus Eireann could probably organise alternative transport for passengers, it is unlikely that Dublin Bus could do so, further adding to the traffic crisis in the capital.
The 20 per cent pay claim by Dublin Bus drivers is outside the terms of Partnership 2000, but as the NBRU is not affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions it is not bound by its terms. Mr Bunting said that his members made no apology for the claim.
"I ask anyone could they live on £268 a week at the top of a six-year scale to £204 at the bottom," he said. "In terms of the transport industry at large there are drivers earning far more, who don't have to carry people and be responsible for their safety."
However, Dublin Bus says it cannot breach national agreements and its drivers have already received increases worth 7 per cent over the past year. This includes 2.25 per cent under Partnership 2000 and the balance in return for co-operating with the company's Viability Plan.