Cantillon: Dublin Bus set for a winter of discontent

Does transport minister Shane Ross have a tin hat? Would he like someone to organise a whip round to buy him one? He is going to need one, as the Irish public transport sector looks set for an autumn and winter of discontent.

Dublin Bus staff who are members of Siptu have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, with union representatives speculating that strike action of some kind could start towards the end of this month or in September.

Oh goody, if you’re a kid who wants to avoid school. Damn it, for everyone else.

Siptu represents about 1,600 of the 3,300 staff at Dublin Bus, including 1,100 drivers. They complain staff haven’t had a pay rise in eight years, and have “been through” three restructurings in that time.

Normally, restructurings at big organisations result in large numbers of staff being let go. The Dublin Bus staff still have their relatively well-paid jobs, the costs of which are heavily subvented by long-suffering taxpayers.

When it comes to bus services, taxpayers are sometimes referred to by another term: “Customers.”

Fare rises

The customers of Dublin Bus have also “been through” a lot of unpleasantness. Some cash fares have risen by up to 70 per cent in the last five years. Inflation, it should be pointed out, is about 0.5 per cent.

The price of oil, and hence bus fuel, has collapsed. The State’s subvention increased this year and use of the service is on the up. So Dublin Bus should have wriggle room to cope with increases in labour costs.

Staff have turned down an 8.25 per cent pay rise over three years. If they are eventually awarded something higher, management must resist hiking fares further to plug the gap.

And then there is the trouble with Irish Rail, where staff are in dispute with the company over productivity measures. That could get messy, too.

Ireland is no country for the old men, or the old women, or the ordinary workers, students and other blameless citizens who rely on public transport to go about their daily business.