The Unions of Students in Ireland (USI) has condemned Bus Éireann’s management for failing to resolve the dispute with staff that has resulted in strike action beginning at midnight on Thursday, March 23rd, stating that it has gone beyond a “dispute” and has “created a complete gridlock for students seeking to get home and to college”.
The strike has affected tens of thousands of people across Ireland as it halts services. In a statement today the union emphasised its support for previous strikes carried out by bus workers, reaffirming this support and condemning the failure of management to find a resolution with workers. USI has called on the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, to find a solution.
In the statement, President of USI, Annie Hoey, said: “Tens of thousands of students who rely on Bus Éireann and Irish Rail to travel around the country are now faced with Mother’s Day chaos and the prospect of facing into the exam season not knowing if they’ll be able to make critical classes. The failure to negotiate isn’t just causing inconvenience – it’s causing enormous anxiety and stress for people at the most difficult time of the year.”
Hoey added that Bus Éireann is a service thousands of students rely on to commute to and from college and work on weekdays and to travel home for the weekend: “There are thousands of students who rely on Bus Eireann to go to college, work and even travel home at the weekends.There are students who are parents who need to get to college and home to their families. There are students who rely on the already poor public transport routes around Ireland to travel.”
“We urge management and our Government to come to a resolution with workers, and firmly do not believe that workers should have their wages cut to plug the gap”, she added.
A statement released by Bus Éireann said the company was “extremely disappointed” that unions had called the strike from midnight, citing the “major inconvenience” it would cause as well as its ability to “exacerbate the perilous financial situation at the company”.
Ross has stated that although he is “deeply concerned” about the strike, he will not be intervening with the situation, instead stating both parties should direct talks to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court.
Bus Éireann staff commenced the all-out strike, which has affected services in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, with the exception of school transport services, from midnight on Thursday, March 23rd in response to measures introduced to deal with the company’s ongoing financial difficulties. Bus Éireann lost €9.4 million last year.
Bus Éireann previously informed employees that about 50 cost-saving methods that would be put in place to deal with these financial difficulties. Unions objected these measures being undertaken without any agreement talks between staff and Bus Éireann.
