More than 1,500 SIPTU members in Dublin Bus began a 48-hour work stoppage today (Thursday, 8th September) at 12.01 a.m. in a dispute concerning pay and conditions at the public transport company. The action by the SIPTU members and their colleagues, in the four other unions in Dublin Bus, has resulted in a complete shutdown of public bus services throughout the city. The striking bus workers are holding pickets at all seven Dublin Bus depots in Clontarf, Conyngham Road, Harristown, Ringsend, Phibsboro, Donnybrook and Summerhill, as well as the company’s head office on O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. The pickets began at 5.00 a.m. this morning. SIPTU Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction Division Organiser, Owen Reidy, said: “SIPTU members sincerely regret that they have been left with no option but to undertake industrial action in pursuit of their reasonable pay claim. They also regret that management and the Department of Transport have not lived up to their responsibility to the travelling public and seriously attempted to resolve this dispute.” He added: “Dublin Bus returned to profitability in 2014. This is despite the reduction of the State subvention to the company by 24% in the last six years. There was also the crazy situation last year where the National Transport Authority took €2 million from the company’s profits as it deemed them to have been too high. “Meanwhile, workers at the company have not had a pay rise in eight years. During this period the workers agreed major changes in work practices which helped the company through the recession and now provide a service to more passengers than ever before.” SIPTU and the other four Dublin Bus unions have served notice for two further 48-hour work stoppages on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September, and Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September.
Dublin Bus workers implement 48-hour work stoppage
