Hopes are fading that the series of Dublin Bus strikes would be suspended for the replay of the All-Ireland football final on October 1st.
Tens of thousands of Dublin and Mayo supporters are expected to converge on Croke Park for the replay – many of whom will face significant walks from nearest rail stations.
Traders have warned sales are down about 20 per cent due to the dispute, with footfall off by 25 per cent.
The National Bus and Railworkers’ Union (NBRU) said on Monday that calls to consider suspension for 24 hours in under two weeks time were “premature”.
General secretary Dermot O’Leary said the idea was “frankly insulting to both staff and their regular commuters”.
Mr O’Leary said 400,000 people relied on buses daily and asking the workers “to facilitate a one off occasion” was a mistake. He said people would be “far better served” concentrating their energies on getting this dispute resolved “for the benefit of all those who use Dublin Bus services”.
Owen Reidy of Siptu said the NBRU approach was “spot on”. He said there were almost “two weeks including four days” of industrial action before the Mayo-Dublin replay scheduled for Croke Park. “I don’t think it is on anyone’s agenda but if the four dates, next Friday and Saturday, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday go ahead a suspension is unlikely”.
Mr Reidy said he would prefer to see efforts to resolve the strike well under way by then: “I would like to think it would be resolved by October 1st.”
Impact on business
Dublin Chamber of Commerce said it was very concerned the ongoing strike would affect plans by traders to hire staff or make decisions about stock for Christmas. Public affairs manager with the chamber Graeme McQueen said sales were down about 20 per cent and footfall down 25 per cent during recent strike days.
Meanwhile, the Unite trade union said workers and the public were now paying the price for “persistent Government disengagement” with public transport.
Unite, which represents craft workers in Dublin Bus, published figures which it said showed government subvention to the company fell by 32.6 per cent since 2008. The union added that it is “well below the level of other major European cities as a percentage of total revenue”.
Unite regional officer Willie Quigley said the “hands-off approach” to the dispute adopted by Minister for Transport Shane Ross reflected a “policy of persistent disengagement adopted by successive governments” which have cut the subvention to Dublin Bus by €28 million.
“Dublin Bus workers, the travelling public and the Dublin economy have paid the price for this disengagement.
To reach the European average the subvention to Dublin Bus would need to rise from its current €57.7 million to €230 million, said Unite.
“Last week’s decision by the unions involved to announce additional stoppages at the end of September and during October reflects our members’ frustration at the ongoing lack of engagement from Dublin Bus and the Minister,” said Mr Quigley.
