Threatened Bus Éireann strike averted

The threat of a bus strike has been averted, at least for the time being, after unions and management at Bus Éireann agreed to have their dispute referred to the Labour Court.

Industrial action was set to take place tomorrow after 900 drivers belonging to the National Bus and Rail Union said they wouldn’t accept proposals by management to cut overtime rates, shift payments and holiday entitlements while increasing their workload.

SIPTU, which also represents many bus drivers, threatened to follow suit next Thursday.

Following 12 hours of negotiation at the Labour Relations Commission, chaired by director of conciliation Kevin Foley, Bus Éireann management agreed to defer the introduction of work changes, and unions decided to suspend industrial action in an effort to have the impasse resolved by the Labour Court. It is hoped the case will be heard within the next week.

Bus Éireann wanted to introduce the new terms in a bid to save €20m this year. It wanted to cut wages by €9m and make a €11m cut in operations.

The company warned that without the cuts it faced losses of €16m this year. Last night a company spokesman said: “For the sake of our customers, Bus Éireann has welcomed the fact that there will now be no disruption to services on Sunday. Bus Éireann expects that all services will operate as normal on Sunday and Monday.”

Unions also welcomed the move.