DUBLIN BUS HAS endorsed an independent report into Dublin Bus’ future which warns against future strike action.
The 22-page report was carried out by former union official Noel Dowling and management consultant Ultan Courtney.
Reccomendations
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and employers body Ibec asked them to look at the Labour Court recommendations about cost-saving proposals for Dublin Bus, which have been rejected by bus workers.
Dublin Bus has backed the new plan to cut costs and it will be voted on next week.
Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland programme today Noel Dowling said that the report to investigate the Labour Court’s recommendations is “trying to prevent the destruction of a good company that employs 3,000 people,” adding that they want to preserve the livelihood of bus drivers.
We are “trying to see if we can make the Labour Court recommendations more palatable to the drivers in terms of how they are operated… “.
The report also finds that there is a lot of mistrust in the company between management and drivers, as, in the past, when cuts have been agreed on by drivers, often times management makes further cuts.
Company in trouble
Dowling said he could not hammer home the seriousness of the situation with Dublin Bus, stating:
… over three or four years the company has accumulated a deficit of €52 million. It is burning off its cash reserves and is at the end of its banking facility… I couldn’t overestimate the critical nature of this …
He said that the situation with Dublin Bus was “extremely worrying” adding that the situation “is so bad that we could end up in a Dublin without a Dublin bus”.
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