Bus drivers’ union seek substantial pay rises for members

Staff in Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus who are represented by the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) are to seek substantial pay increases.

The union said on Thursday that it would be seeking an increase of between 6 per cent and 13 per cent which it maintained its members were owed by the companies arising from the non-payment of previous agreements a number of years ago.

The union is also to look for a further pay increase of potentially between 3 per cent and 5 per cent, which it said would be along the lines of those awarded in other sectors.

The union also wants all pay for staff at Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus to be pensionable.

The union also is seeking parity in terms and conditions for staff at the two State-owned transport companies with those in the privately-operated Luas light rail system.

NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary said: “Eight years without a pay rise is something bus workers are no longer prepared to tolerate.”

He said the claim in relation to Dublin Bus would go before the Labour Court shortly.

“We will be submitting the necessity for our members’ contribution in the bad times to be materially recognised now that the boost in the economy is reflected in the company’s bottom line.”

Luas operation

In a letter to Dublin Bus on Thursday the NBRU said that in advance of taking the issue to the Labour Court it wanted to suggest that the Luas operation would be an “appropriate comparator by which the role of the bus driver would perhaps be measured”.

Staff at Luas are, separately, scheduled to embark on industrial action within the next few days aimed at securing pay increases of up to 53 per cent in some cases.

Staff in Bus Éireann earlier this week voted in favour of strike action in what has been described as a precautionary ballot amid fears over potential cuts to the company’s expressway inter-city coach service.

The NBRU said the its members in Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann had not received a 6 per cent pay increase due under the former Towards 2016 social partnership agreement a number of years ago as the companies argued at the time that it could not be afforded.

The union said that officials in the Department of Transport had calculated that the non-payment of this 6 per cent award would by 2016 be worth about 13 per cent.

The NBRU also maintained that pensionable pay, bonuses, annual leave, the death in service lump sum and other benefits were all superior for staff with the Luas than for those in the State-owned bus companies.