Dublin Bus has been served with strike notice for Friday, March 24th and Saturday March 25th, following the breakdown of talks at the Labour Relations Commission on the 20 per cent pay claim by the National Bus and Railworkers Union (NBRU). The union is threatening an all-out stoppage from April 10th.
The last strike was called off on February 22nd, with less than two hours to go, after the ICTU intervened in the dispute. However, its intervention coincided with the start of balloting on the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), when all the social partners were anxious to avert a high-profile public sector dispute.
This round of talks effectively broke down on Monday, after it emerged that the Department of Public Enterprise was not prepared to increase the company subvention to meet pay claims.
The NBRU is understood to have been willing only to negotiate on productivity already conceded but not yet implemented. It was not prepared to offer new cost-saving measures.
The NBRU general secretary, Mr Peter Bunting, was not available for comment last night, but the senior SIPTU negotiator, Mr Noel Dowling, said that he believed there was still room for negotiation.