Dublin Bus drivers based at a major depot in the north of the city have again accused the company of "provoking a strike" in a dispute over new routes.
Dublin Bus wants to introduce an "enhancement" to the the existing number 4 route from Ballymun to Blackrock and a new route 128 from Baldoyle through the city centre and on to Rathmines.
The bus company yesterday said it had the backing of the Labour Court and would introduce new schedules at the Harristown depot from next Monday. Drivers at the depot are refusing to co-operate with the schedules as they claim they are being asked to finish their shifts 11km away from where they start.
They are threatening to strike from Sunday and said they will seek the support of drivers in other depots in any "prolonged dispute".
Dublin Bus says it is not asking the drivers to work longer hours and that they do not have to travel to the depot to pick up their buses. A spokeswoman said the company had built 40 minutes travelling time into their shifts to allow them return to the base.
In a statement, drivers based at Harristown said: "When drivers moved to Harristown, the company insisted that all drivers would start, break and finish in the depot. The company did so at the time for operational reasons to do with the garages distance from the city.
"Drivers believe that the proposed new arrangements will be a fiasco for both the travelling public and drivers. Passengers will be left waiting on buses in the city while relief drivers try to make their way from their parent depot over 11km away."
The drivers said the company has no agreement with their unions on these schedules and that the new routes could have been introduced under existing arrangements.
They said Dublin Bus management was trying to "cut costs on the back of extending drivers working hours" and that the insistence on new schedules was "the real reason for any delay in the roll-out of new routes".