Bus strikes could spread beyond Dublin

As hundreds of thousands of commuters make plans for a third 48-hour strike by Dublin Bus drivers next week, talks beginning on Wednesday could decide whether travel disruption spreads beyond the capital within days.

Bus Éireann management and driver trade unions are due to meet at the Workplace Relations Commission with pay at the top of the agenda.

One of those unions, the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), has since February been demanding pay parity with Luas drivers. As the light rail drivers subsequently benefited from a significant pay rise, the union demands will be even higher. The pay issue is likely to go through a number of mediation processes before industrial action would emerge over it.