Relief for commuters as bus strikes called off

A planned strike by SIPTU and National Bus and Rail Union members at Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann has been called off. The news will come as a big relief to commuters who ensured 4km tailbacks coming into Virginia from the Dublin side on the Friday before the May Bank Holiday weekend when the last strike took place.

It was announced that the five remaining days of industrial action have been cancelled. The breakthrough came after 15 hours of talks at the Labour Relations Commission.

Union members were due to strike tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, as well as from May 29-31.

A five-page document setting out the terms of the settlement was accepted by all sides, after the protracted negotiations under the auspices of the LRC.

A union representative had promised 'total wipeout' of services if a resolution was not found before Friday.

Siptu’s Transport Sector organiser Willie Noone spoke briefly to The Celt on Tuesday moments before entering the Labour Relations Court (LRC) in Dublin for the two days of negotiations with management at Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority (NTA).

The services that would have been affected in this area are the Cavan-to-Dublin routes and also the Donegal-to-Cavan-to-Dublin service, as well as services from Dublin to Tullamore, Portlaoise and Kildare.

The industrial action was threatened over plans to put 10% of routes operated by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann out to tender. This had prompted concerns over job retention.

It's understood that while plans to put 10% of service out to tender will go ahead, no employees will be forced to transfer to a new contractor and a registered employment agreement will be put in place.