Talks on the 20 per cent pay claim by Dublin Bus drivers began at the Labour Court yesterday. SIPTU and the National Bus and Railworkers' Union are claiming they have agreed to a series of cost-cutting plans in the past to keep the company viable and that this only resulted in the reduction of State subventions.
The company is expected to argue that it is bound by the terms of Partnership 2000 and cannot afford to pay a cost-increasing claim. The unions are likely to argue that drivers in other sectors have received increases of up to 32 per cent through local bargaining under successive pay agreements.