Dublin will be without buses today

More than 2,000 Dublin Bus drivers will withdraw their labour this morning in pursuit of a 20 per cent pay rise.

The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) has warned that the action today may only be the first in a series of stoppages that could escalate to an all-out strike in less than a month.

Some 1,100 NBRU members will take part in the action today, which is sponsored by their union. Another 1,000 SITPU drivers will support them.

Management and the NBRU have not been in face-to-face negotiations since last Wednesday. While there was an exchange of letters on Friday, the only direct contact between the two sides yesterday was a debate on radio.

Management at the company says it will not talk to unions until strike notice is lifted, while the NBRU says it will not accept management setting any precondition for talks.

Dublin Bus drivers are currently on a basic wage of between £207 and £273 per week.

A union statement last night said drivers' wages were poor because the Government had not invested enough in the service.

"It is a proven fact that Dublin Bus receives the lowest government subsidy of any industrialised country. That low subsidy has been subvented by Dublin Bus workers through low wages."

However, a spokesman for Dublin Bus said management would not be going into negotiations "with a gun to our heads. We cannot enter talks with strike notice hanging over us".

The union served strike notice on February 4th after a third-party review group found that their pay proposals could not be implemented without damaging the competitiveness of Dublin Bus. The company claims the pay increases would cost up to £9 million per year.

Next week two stoppages are planned on Tuesday and Wednesday. If the drivers have not entered negotiations by then, there will be three stoppages the week after and four the following week. An all-out strike will follow from March 12th.

The Fine Gael spokeswoman on traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell TD, called on the Minister for Public Enterprise to intervene in the dispute.

The chief executive of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, Mr Simon Nugent, said that "where people are dependent on public transport and on companies that have a monopoly on its provision, striking should be outlawed."