Determined Bus Drivers Strike in Ireland

Workers at Bus Éireann (a state owned company) called an all-out strike from Friday 24th March bringing bus services across Eire, as well as some cross border rotes to Northern Ireland, to a halt.  Picketing was vigorous from the start, and there were complaints from government circles of “secondary picketing”.  [Secondary picketing is were picket lines are placed to spread the strike-forced other workers out on strike-or on other services which will damage the employers ability to function.]  Initial picketing led to some Iarnród Éireann (Irish Railways) intercity train services being affected.

Bus Éireann had been reporting financial losses of 9m euros (UKP 8m) last year and a further 50,000 euros (UKP 43,000) a day this January. This financial crisis has not just arisen but has been an almost perennial problem, with the Irish state issuing free bus passes and cheap tourist-style tickets, leaving the three state-owned transport services (Bus Éireann, Dublon Buses and Irish Railways)  to cope with the financial problems.  Bus Éireann bosses saw the solution to the financial problems by attacking the wage rates and working conditions of the employees.  The Irish Government was quick to deny any plans for privatising the bus company.

The Irish National Transport Authority (NTA) pays a subvention of 125,000 every workday and 75,000 for every weekend day.  The NTA plan to impose fines in excess of 1m because of Bus Éireann’s strike bound routes.

Unions called the strike over Bus Éireann’s implementation of cost reduction measures without their agreement.  Over 2500 Bus Éireann’s workers were out on strike despite statements by the company’s bosses that it would worsen its financial situation, which was already “perilous”.

Official picket lines were formed outside Bus stations affected by Bus Éireann’s strike with unaffected services moving bus stops, especially in Dublin, respecting the picket lines of the two main unions SIPTU (Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union) and NBRU (National Bus and Railworkers’ Union).  The role of the official picket lines is mainly two-fold, to prevent the use of Bus Éireann’s buses for strike-breaking ervices on the one hand, and to keep the strikers in line on the other.

Unofficial Picket Action in Dublin

After a week of “official” picket-line duty in Dublin, being marginalised while the rest of Dublin’s transport system was working, led to several hours of unofficial, secondary picketing on Friday 31st March.  With their union banners and picket placards the strikers moved into the centre of Dublin bringing many of the transport services to a halt. These picket lines were readily respected by other transport workers, who could easily be on the firing line themselves in the future.  It demonstrated what the strikers could do if they had to extend the strike.

It took many hours for the affected bus and rail services in the Republic of Ireland to return to normal after the now unofficial picket-lines linked to the Bus Éireann strike were lifted.  Intercity and commuter rail services and Dublin Bus and DART services were seriously disrupted during the Friday morning.  Rail and bus services crossing the Irish border were also impacted as a result of the action.

Having made their point the strikers returned to the official picket lines.  After that, the condemnation of this form of wildcat picketing was not long in coming.

The NBRU said it had told its members that the unofficial pickets should be removed as they had not been sanctioned by the union.  A NBRU official made it clear that all workers at Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus who are members of the NBRU should be at work as normal.  He apologised for the inconvenience to travellers and said he was angered when he heard of the action, which his union would not support.

The Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny also joined in the attacks on this type of unofficial picketing.  “The wildcat action that was taken last weekend was disgraceful, and discommoded hundreds of thousands of people”, he said.

Union Officials Take Control

Having managed to reassert their control over the official picket lines the Union leaders quickly agreed to the strike going to arbitration at the Workplace Relations Commission, which began on the 5th April.  It would be a condition of talks that the strike would continue and the pickets would remain in place.  This was hardly an exercise in militancy, more of a way of keeping the strikers under control.

A SIPTU official made it clear that they could not back down from the strike, simply returning to work to work was not an option.  This was because members had been dismissed in Munster and some workers had had their wages cut by substantial amounts.

SIPTU was then starting to lay out its stall in future collaboration, over the heards of their members  “We know that there’s inefficiencies to be driven out of the system in Bus Éireann, we’re up for that task”, said SIPTU spokesman Willie Noone.

“But one of the essential themes is that equity has to prevail, we believe that the management numbers have to be curtailed, we believe it’s top-heavy.

“We believe that if there is going to be cost-cutting in payroll, management have to play a leading role in that”.

The Bus Éireann strike ended on April 14th. They were called off by the unions after the Labour Court arbitration board ruled that the company was insolvent. Of course the board will hand down their recommendations and Bus Éireann workers are will vote on the proposals in early May.

Since Bus Éireann went back to work both the Dublin Bus drivers union and on April 28th the Iarnród Éireann (Railroads) staff and school-bus drivers voted to join with the Bus Éireann drivers if they decide to return to the strike.