The Government is to take a tough line on the threatened strike at Dublin Bus tomorrow. The action is seen as a direct challenge to the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, which the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is expected to endorse at a special delegate conference today.
A spokesman for the Minister for Public Enterprise said last night that Ms O'Rourke had the full backing of Tuesday's Cabinet meeting for a firm stance against the 20 per cent pay claim by the National Bus and Railworkers' Union. "The Minister will be calling for the suspension of strike action and immediate resumption of negotiations by the NBRU," he said.
"She believes agreement is possible, but she will be emphasising that any agreement will have to be based on genuine productivity and restructuring measures. Additional Exchequer funds will not be made available to finance any cost-increasing pay claims. The Government is not the paymaster for the workforce."
The Government's room for manoeuvre has been drastically reduced by the resignation of the former CIE chairman, Mr Brian Joyce. Mr Joyce alleged Ms O'Rourke was interfering in the group's industrial relations. She also came in for criticism from Opposition spokespersons who will find it difficult to make the usual calls for Government intervention in a dispute which could leave 200,000 commuters stranded tomorrow and Saturday.
Bus services face further disruption next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday if there is no settlement. The following week the NBRU is planning stoppages from Monday, April 3rd, until Thursday, April 6th. It will call an all-out strike from Monday, April 10th.
Union sources indicated yesterday that sympathetic unofficial action might spread to Bus Eireann and Iarnrod Eireann, including the DART and Dublin suburban lines.
The Labour Relations Commission has kept in touch with both sides since talks broke down last week. Its chief executive, Mr Kieran Mulvey, said last night the LRC "will be contacting the parties again to see if any change is possible, but I would not be optimistic because the gap appears to be unbridgeable".
Last night the NBRU general secretary, Mr Peter Bunting, said that in last week's talks the union identified potential savings worth between £2 million and £3 million which could be achieved by "tweaking" past productivity deals. "The company questioned our figures and we asked them to reciprocate with their own proposals but they refused."
He did not reject company claims that his members were earning £22,400 a year on average, or £5,000 more than the average industrial wage. However, he said the basic rate remained as low as £223 a week and that gross earnings were based on overtime.
"If you want to buy a house in Dublin your local building society manager won't accept pay based on overtime," he said. "We make no apologies for seeking a decent basic wage."
Dublin Bus spokesman Mr Joe Collins said the cost of meeting the NBRU claim would be £9.5 million. The company could not fund this increase out of its own resources, but it had indicated the claim could be funded by new productivity measures. These would not involve any job losses.
Earlier yesterday in the Seanad, Mr Donie Cassidy said it was easy to see why a strike was imminent as bus drivers with at least 10 years' experience were getting only £250 to £260 a week.