Updated 8.50am
AN ORGANISATION REPRESENTING students has condemned the failure of Bus Éireann management to resolve a dispute with their workers, resulting in what they call “travel misery for tens of thousands of students”.
Members of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have said they support striking bus workers, and have asked that the Minister for Transport Shane Ross to intervene to seek a resolution.
Speaking during the latest short-notice stoppage, USI President Annie Hoey said:
“This dispute has gone beyond the dispute between management and workers – it has created a complete gridlock for students seeking to get home and to college.
She said that “tens of thousands of students” rely on Bus Éireann and Irish Rail to travel around the country, and are unsure if they’ll be able to make critical classes in the lead up to exam season.
The failure to negotiate isn’t just causing inconvenience – it’s causing enormous anxiety and stress for people at the most difficult time of the year.
Yesterday, NBRU spokesperson Dermot O’Leary said that it was his understanding that Irish Rail workers would not strike in solidarity with their colleagues this week.
This morning, it was confirmed that train services would operate as normal.
On RTÉ’s News at One, he called on Ministers John Halligan, Finian McGrath and Boxer Moran to support the bus strikes.
He suggested that Coras Iompair Éireann (CIE) provide funding for the company to help it financially in the short-term, before a long-term resolution can be agreed.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross is to appear before an Oireachtas Committee this week to explain the current situation at Bus Éireann.
His last appearance before the committee was a feisty affair, with Ross refusing all calls to intervene in the industrial dispute.
With reporting from Sean Murray
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