Bus Éireann drivers urged to return to WRC after 'unofficial' Limerick strike

Vivienne Clarke

The only way to resolve the dispute over bus rosters in Limerick is to return to the Workplace Relations Commission, the general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, Dermot O’Leary has said.

All bus services out of Limerick bus station have been cancelled after a number of drivers took unofficial industrial action in a row over new spare driver rosters.

Bus Éireann said that it had to cancel all city and county services out of Limerick bus station after a number of drivers placed a picket at Limerick bus station today.

Mr O’Leary told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the union had not known in advance of the unofficial action. He said he was not prepared to “lambast” workers for their actions, but there were procedures to handle such concerns.

The NBRU did not have an official dispute with Bus Éireann at present, he said. But they had warned the company a number of weeks ago that their members would take umbrage at “being forced to do something that they say is not part of their conditions, despite the fact that we agreed on a report to be commissioned in and around spare duties.

The only way to find a solution was to return to the WRC “where this whole issue started”, to sit down and come up with some way of resolving the issue.

Mr O’Leary said he had written to the company on September 19th warning that there could be issues in relation to the “unilateral implementation” of changes in the terms and conditions of their workers and that if the changes were introduced on October 1st then the union would have no option but to issue ballot papers.

“That’s the way we do business, through official channels. And I will do that as of today, I will issue ballot papers to our members, but I would rather sit down around a table to resolve the issues.”

Mr O’Leary said he would certainly encourage the members in Limerick to go back to work and operate under protest. “We issued a notice yesterday morning to that effect that people should work in the normal manner and allow us, officialdom if you like, to discuss the issues with the company through the WRC.

“I would impress on our members that they should be at work, under protest if necessary. Unofficial actions will not get us where we need to get, which is a resolution of the issues.

“I would hope that common sense will prevail.”

Mr O’Leary said the problems needed to be solved through the proper industrial action channels, adding his union would not use “megaphone” tactics or use media organisations to issue statements.