Members of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) have voted to take industrial action if management at Bus Éireann proceed with plans to implement cuts to pay and employment conditions as part of a new recovery plan.
We previously highlighted the Company's plans to unilaterally make changes to the employees terms in a cost saving measure.
The general secretary of the NBRU Michael Faherty said 92% of members at the Company voted in favour of industrial action. He said his members at Bus Éireann would not be working under the revised conditions which management at the Company is seeking to implement from next Sunday.
Among the changes to the employees terms and conditions will be
- Overtime rates to be reduced from time and a half to time and a quarter,
- A reduction in shift, premium and rota payments
- A reduction in annual leave by three days
- There will be a longer working week for clerical and executive employees from 36 to 39 hours per week.
- A range of allowance and expense payments will also be reduced by 33.3%
Bus Éireann said it had repeatedly stated since last June that failure to agree to its recovery plan would leave the company facing potential annual losses of €16 million. SIPTU, which also represents workers at Bus Éireann, is scheduled to announce the results of a ballot it has conducted on industrial action later this week. SIPTU has warned that moves by Bus Éireann to introduce unilateral cuts to pay and terms of employment for staff could result in industrial action taking place in all the transport companies across the wider CIÉ group such as Dublin Bus and Irish Rail.
A spokesman for Bus Éireann warned that in the event of industrial action which led to a deterioration in the company’s financial position the issue of core pay and employment levels, which are protected under the current recovery plan, would have to be looked at. The spokesman said that Bus Éireann was still planning to implement its recovery plan from next weekend. He said the company had so far received no communication from the NBRU on possible industrial action. He said by law the union was obliged to provide such notification in a timely fashion. The spokesman also said that customers should be informed as soon as possible of any possible disruption to services.
