Bus Éireann Statement, 23 March 2017

Bus Éireann are extremely disappointed that Unions have called a strike at the company from midnight tonight.
Industrial action will cause major inconvenience to our customers and exacerbate the perilous financial situation at the company.

To be clear, losses for January and February in 2017 are 41% higher than for the same period last year – and losses in 2016 were €9.4m.
The company is facing insolvency in a few short months and not acting to implement cost savings urgently would be completely irresponsible.

The Board and management have twice postponed the introduction of efficiency measures – which are all within current collective agreements, and do not affect basic wages or current terms and conditions – to allow for 10 days of talks in two separate sessions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
We sought savings of €12m from a payroll of €133m – or 9% - but Unions were only prepared to cede €0.5m on the current overtime bill of €13m.

The efficiencies we are seeking to introduce relate to work practices, which must be put in place if the company is to have a viable and sustainable future.
We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused by Unions’ action and want to reiterate that School Transport services, Eurolines and cross-Border Translink operated services should not be affected by this strike action.
Information can also be found at www.buseireann.ie, Twitter @buseireann, Facebook @buseireann or on the Customer Care helpline at 1850 836 611

Thursday, 23rd March, 2017