Bus lanes in Dublin will be open to all traffic today as the capital braces itself for the first of a series of strikes by members of the National Bus and Rail workers' Union. Motorists were urged last night not to make nonessential journeys.
There will be no Dublin Bus services today or tomorrow, including the Nitelink service. DART services and the Aircoach service to Dublin Airport will operate normally.
Parking restrictions will not be relaxed - traffic wardens and clampers will be on the streets.
The general secretary of the NBRU, Mr Peter Bunting, said last night that the mood of his members was "highly determined". The statement by the Government that no subvention was available to fund pay rises had "incensed" drivers, coming as it did at a time when members of Dail Eireann were looking for a 28 per cent pay rise.
Mr Bunting criticised politicians and business interests for "threatening Dublin Bus workers with competition", saying that this would exacerbate an already fraught situation. He was speaking after a meeting of NBRU shop stewards to consider a call by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, for the drivers to return to talks.
In a separate move, the company issued a newsletter to staff, urging them to call off industrial action. The managing director of Dublin Bus, Dr Alan Westwell, identified seven major areas where savings could be made to finance a pay increase.
SIPTU's regional secretary, Mr Noel Dowling, who represents almost half of the company's drivers, called for a resumption of talks without preconditions.
The company newsletter appears to have angered NBRU members. It identified contracting out some services and changes in rostering practices, shift premiums and signing-on arrangements as the main areas where savings could be made.