SUPPORT DUBLIN BUS
The conduct of Dublin Bus management at Harristown this week is another attempt to erode workers’ conditions and privatise a public service, says Cllr Joan Collins.
A meeting of the Community and Workers Action Group in Crumlin last night condemned the actions of Dublin Bus management and offered its full support and solidarity to Dublin Bus workers.
Management’s actions – the introduction of two new routes, the insistence that drivers operating the routes should now start and end their six-hour shifts in the city centre, the suspension of a colleague – have led to the current dispute.
Joan Collins appealed to all bus workers to support their colleagues in Harristown as the issue there will have repercussions for all Dublin Bus workers.
“The stance of the drivers is fully justified,” she says. “They are defending their working conditions. Their suspended colleague must be reinstated and management must sit down and start talking.
“Fine Gael’s ‘solution’ to the dispute is to open up the transport system to competition and we all know where that will lead us: profit for some companies while the reward for workers is lower wages and poorer working conditions
“We must prevent this ‘race to the bottom’ and show solidarity with Dublin Bus workers at Harristown.”
Bus workers’ strike ends
Dublin bus workers recently ended a week-long strike at the Harristown garage in north Dublin. The issues have not been resolved. We spoke to a Dublin Bus worker to hear their side of the story. “Harristown garage is 14 kilometres from the city centre. Dublin Bus wanted drivers to begin and end their shift in the city centre, allowing 45 minutes to get to and from Harristown. This would have added at least an hour, if not longer, unpaid on a daily basis. The company are trying to force change down the workers’ throats, returning us to a Victorian-like age of working conditions. Management tried to break the fundamental principle of trade unionism by isolating sections of the workforce. The leaderships of the two unions involved, NBRU and SIPTU, were not as strong as their members would have liked. The strike ended after workers voted 60 per cent to 40 per cent to return to work. A Labour Court recommendation increased the travelling time by 10 minutes. We face tough times ahead but united and standing together we shall overcome.
