Bus Éireann talks resume on 16th day of strikes

As the public spends a 16th day without Bus Éireann services, management and unions will once more gather at the Workplace Relations Commission, this morning, hoping to resolve it.

A 27-hour session at the WRC ended with an adjournment yesterday morning. Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail union, tweeted: “WRC taking stock overnight. It’s been a long 27 hours. All parties committed to reaching solution”’.

The sides have been in the WRC since Wednesday, but the 1,900 staff, on strike for more than two weeks, have refused to come off their pickets while the talks are held.

The sides have discussed rostering, and other efficiencies, and have made slow, but steady, progress.

However, the discussions will become more difficult when the thorny issue of pay is addressed, likely over the weekend.

A consolidated form of pay, similar to what exists in Irish Rail, may be considered. That would mean that premium payments and overtime could be wrapped into core pay.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister, Shane Ross, was confronted by protesting Bus Éireann workers, while attending an event at a greenway into Athlone yesterday.

An excerpt of the conversation was captured by Shannonside News.

The minister said: “They (the unions and management) have been in the WRC all day and they are going to the Labour Court, I think, now.

“I hope we all get a settlement which is satisfactory for everybody.”

One of the protesters said to him: “We gave you back €16m seven years ago and now you are hitting the very same people again, the driver and the ordinary worker in Bus Éireann.”

The minister replied: “We are going to do our very best to see we get a settlement that is satisfactory for everybody, that is good for you and good for the company.”

The person replied: “We all have mortgages, Shane.”