Updated at 7.15pm
TALKS AT THE Workplace Relations Commission aimed at bringing an end to the Bus Éireann dispute have ended today without agreement.
The talks continued through the night last night before ending at around noon today. They’re due to reconvene at 11am tomorrow according to RTÉ News.
Bus Éireann unions officially came back to the negotiation table on Tuesday of this week. However, the strike pickets have not been lifted.
The strike is now in its fifteenth day.
It’s understood that the pay and conditions of drivers remains the major sticking point.
The already cash-strapped company has been losing an estimated €500,000 per day since the strike began.
Both sides had previously engaged in talks, but they fell through with unions and management accusing each other of not being flexible enough to reach a deal.
Bus Éireann is facing insolvency, losing approximately €50,000 a day. In order to save the company, management is proposing cuts to drivers’ pay, an end to some bus routes, cuts to overtime pay and some job losses.
Unions strongly oppose most of these measures.
The strikes began when management implemented these measures without the agreement of the unions. Management say they were under time pressure to get their accounts in order and that unions weren’t open to compromise.
Minister Shane Ross and other government members have repeatedly said they’re not getting involved as they don’t have the funds to solve the problem. The NBRU has called for the Minister to get involved and find a resolution.
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