The majority of the 41-strong Rehab workers at the Rehab Enterprises factory in Raheen in Limerick depend completely on public transport services to get to work. So far, Bus Éireann's strike is hitting hard.
Now, the staff, who earn €9.25 per hour making electronic circuit boards for Rehab Logistics, are concerned the strike could affect the very existence of the centre.
Worker Alan Sampson, who lives 40km away with his parents in Knocklong, has already missed two days: "It's affecting me big time as I'm worried about my wages. I want to see this sorted out because my job is under threat," he said.
Saying that he cannot afford a taxi, the 46-year-old said: “I have made good friends here over the past 25 years and I don’t want to lose my job and my friends. My parents are getting older and I can’t expect them to be giving me lifts. I’m really, really worried.”
Co-worker John Hogan from Moyross is his family's sole breadwinner: "I have to walk or get a taxi or try and get a lift. If I was to get a taxi from Moyross it would cost me €40 [everyday]. I couldn't afford to pay for a taxi five days a week."
Taxi trips
Louise Levis uses her free rail travel pass to get to Limerick from her home in Ennis every morning by train, though now she has to get an €8 each-way taxi trip from Colbert station to Raheen.
"It's a struggle, and the day is longer for me having to get the train," she told The Irish Times. "The [bus] workers are wrecking the country for people who have to travel."
Operations manager Sohrab Nezamabad said the majority of people working in the Raheen factory depend on public transport: "Going back a few years ago we used to get a number of families that were able to pick up and drop off [employees].
“But as they get older they may not be able to drive anymore. The [employees’] need for public transport has become greater and greater and the dependence on that has become huge.”
Now he has concerns about the future: “Everything we do here is for very loyal and valued customers – but obviously, at the end of the day, if we can’t give them what they want, they [will] have to go and find somebody else who can do it.
“If we lose them, I can’t see how we can stay open here if we are going to lose our customers because people can’t make it to work. The staff here have made great sacrifices.”
So far, the workers, their family and friends, are “chipping in” to help get them to work: “But I can’t see how that can be sustained over a longer period. Something has to be done to return those services back to [the employees],” he said.