Talks begin on pay increase claim for staff at Bus Éireann

Talks got under way yesterday on a claim for pay increases for staff at the State-owned transport company Bus Éireann.

In January, the company restored earnings from overtime and premium payments which had been reduced for 19-months as part of a cost-saving plan agreed in 2013.

However, unions had signalled they would be pursuing a pay claim once the cost-containment plan had expired.

One union at the company, the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), has told management that its members were due increases of 6 per cent under national agreements dating back to 2009.

It told the company as far back as last April that “this outstanding 6 per cent should as a matter of course feature in any future calculation of pay rates”.

The NBRU also said the harmonised index of consumer prices for the period 2009 to 2014 was 8.97 per cent.

In a statement the company said: “Bus Éireann participated in a meeting with some staff unions today to hear what the basis of their pay claim is. This meeting was convened so that both the company, and these unions, could state their position on the matter.” Further talks are expected.