The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) has warned Minister for Transport Shane Ross of potential industrial action over pay and pensions in the State-owned CIÉ group of companies in the weeks and months ahead.
In a letter and briefing document sent to the Minister, the NBRU says there is an understandable expectation among its members in Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann that "a significant and long overdue pay rise" is imminent.
NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary also said yesterday he understood that the deficit in the two defined-benefit pension schemes in the CIÉ group was now heading towards €500 million.
A pay claim for staff in Dublin Bus, which is expected to be in the region of 30 per cent, is due to be heard in the Labour Court at the end of the month. Bus workers will seek pay parity with those who drive Luas trams. Talks on pension issues in the CIÉ group will re-commence this week at the Workplace Relations Commission between unions and management.
Pay freeze
The NBRU briefing material to the Minster states: “Staff at the (CIÉ) companies have had to endure a pay freeze since 2008 along with multiple cost containment plans in each company.
“This coupled with increases in the cost of living, direct and indirect taxation has seen bus and rail workers’ take-home pay fall behind those employed in the light rail sector, a transport mode which is also significantly funded by the taxpayer.”
The NBRU submission contends that staff in the privately-operated Luas light rail system, who after a recent strike secured pay increases of 18 per cent over four years, had been more favourably treated than staff in the CIÉ companies over recent years.
It argues that Luas workers received increases under the final social partnership deal, Towards 2016, as well as a separate pay award in 2010 while they experienced no pay cuts following the economic crash.
The NBRU document says the recent dispute at Luas operator Transdev "clearly illustrates how those who oversee and fund public transport view the different providers across public transport provision".
“There is an irony here in that the decision to award the Luas franchise outside of the CIÉ group was predicated on the mistaken belief that this would reduce the influence of the trade unions and perhaps even reduce costs.
“The reality is that the light rail system has had more industrial unrest in the last four months than the entire CIÉ group has had over the last 10 years . . . the terms and conditions that exist within the light rail network far exceed anything that exists within the CIÉ group for similar work.”
Higher costs
The NBRU document maintains that the total costs to the exchequer for running the light rail system are arguably much higher under the franchise model “as a result of not benefiting from the operational synergies that many other more socially mature cities and countries across the EU enjoy.
"To add insult to injury you have the bizarre situation where an Irish taxpayer-funded service is facilitating payment of significant dividends (€1.2 million in 2014) to the Transdev parent company in France, a company which is 60 per cent owned by the French government."
