Members of the Unions representing Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann say they are extremely hopeful the planned strike this weekend can be averted if discussions with LRC are successful.
Although representatives from Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann have said they have a lot of work to do before a resolution can be reached. The news comes as Trade unions representing bus drivers have scheduled two more days of strikes for this weekend but are hopeful the strike action can be averted if agreement can be reached. Meanwhile the LRC’s Chief Executive, Kieran Mulvey says there is an awful lot of work to do if the strike is to be called off. Mr Mulvey said: “There is a lot of pent up tension, a lot of pent up anger regarding this, that was displayed last week by the employees. “So it’s not easy, it’s complex, it’s difficult but the commission is well used to being involved in these kinds of disputes and we always remain hopeful at the end of the day, that we’ll be able to thrash out an agreement between all of the parties.”
The talks comes after a dispute between the bus companies and Government over proposals to privatise 10% of bus routes.
However Owen Reidy of SIPTU has said they will need proper assurances from both bus companies. Mr Reidy said: “Ultimately it’s job security. The situation we’re up to now is both bus companies have not been in a position to commit and guarantee people’s security of tenure, their conditions of employment and all the other issues related to that. “At the heart of this is workers knowing what their future holds and we think if the NTA, the Department of Transport and both bus companies work with us, we should be able to achieve that, but there’s a long way to go.”