Posted online: Jun 26th, 2009

By Dermot Keys

Bus Eireann have blamed the Trade Unions for the “massive inconvenience” that will be caused to bus passengers in Donegal if the proposed national driver strike goes ahead on Monday.
Drivers look set to walk off the job on Monday if Bus Eireann goes ahead with its planned €30 million cost-cutting measures, which include cancelling certain routes and reducing staff numbers staff. Bus Eireann Spokesperson, Andrew Lindon, said that the planned strike would only inconvenience passengers and lead to greater financial losses.
“It’s counter-productive,” he told the Post.
“It will result in increased losses and cause major inconvenience to customers throughout the country and in Donegal.”
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) issued strike notice after Bus Eireann said it would go ahead with the planned cutbacks. The union said that these would result in the loss of 320 staff nationally.
Dermot O’Leary of the NBRU told the Post that the strike action had been precipitated by the company and pointed out that Bus Eireann was supposed to provide a full public transport service. He stated that the reduction in government subvention was one of the major contributing factors to the company’s current difficulties.
Mr O’Leary added that the absence of a rail service in Donegal meant that the loss of services would have an even bigger effect on the county.
A Bus Eireann statement said that the company was already making losses of €500,000 a week. The company had engaged in a cost-recovery plan with unions over a six-week period before the call for industrial action.
The statement said that the proposed changes were regrettable but that notification would be given before any routes were cancelled. It added that some of these routes were used by less than five passengers. The changes will begin to be phased in as of July 5.