School bus row over pay forces parents to make own arrangements for children

THE ongoing school bus row hit up to two dozen schools in Sligo and north Leitrim yesterday.

Parents, who were given prior notice of the stoppage, had to make their own arrangements to get their children to school as there was no Bus Éireann buses laid on.

Of the 55 private operators serving the area, 18 stayed away following an escalation of their dispute with the company.

The one-day stoppage was in pursuit of their claim for a 15% pay increase. The operators, who undertake the service on a yearly contract, cite rising fuel and other costs.

The company has offered an average increase of 4.5% to all private bus operators throughout the country, depending on the size of the vehicle.

A spokesperson pointed out the operators in the north-west were demanding three times the increase granted to other drivers.

Jimmy Middleton, who is acting as spokesman for the drivers in the north-west, said they wanted the company to meet the operators as a group, rather than individually.

A local Bus Éireann spokesperson said: “We are endeavouring to reach agreement with the operators we can reach agreement with.

“We would have to look at putting in our own resources in the event we can’t reach agreement.”

While many of the operators would have had 20 years’ service, many of the contracts would have been tendered for recently.

“It is not unknown for rates to be reviewed nationally within the term of a contract,” the spokesperson added.

“But it won’t be done here locally. That would be a national decision and would have to be applied nationally, because every operator is probably feeling the pinch in relation to the diesel costs,” the company spokesperson said.