THE State's largest trade union SIPTU, has called for the establishment of a transport police unit to protect bus workers.
It says bus work is only possible at present because of the support of the gardai but it has to be realistic about the amount of cover they can give.
An editorial in the current issue of the newsletter Comment, published by the Dublin Bus Branch of SIPTU, says the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, had been asked to carry out a feasibility study on the idea. Such a unit would also have a role in combating illegal parking in the city. It is estimated that the fines and parking income which are not collected could amount to £20 million a year. Traffic law enforcement in the city is inadequate, according to the editorial.
The union expressed concern about the existing mechanisms for protecting bus workers. It says a recent union survey on bus radios revealed major deficiencies in their communications system. "A speedy response by the police to incidents is essential, yet a question mark hangs over this." It says 40 per cent of Garda patrol cars were damaged in accidents but only 21 per cent were replaced.
It is difficult to get accurate overall statistics for violence on buses, the editorial says. This is mainly due to under-reporting. For example, in 1994 Dublin Bus cited 87 cases of disorderly conduct on its fleet. The gardai, however, recorded 77 and a total of 347 incidents.
"However, bus workers rarely report either disorderly conduct or breaches of the company's bylaws because they don't wish to `waste' police time or consider informing the company a waste of time. As a consequence, loutish behaviour, drunkenness and smoking is endemic on our buses."