This article is from page 16 of the 2007-11-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
PUPILS could be walking to school this Friday after SIPTU served strike notice on Bus Eireann in a demand for increased pay and conditions for more than 200 school bus drivers seeking proper pay and conditions.
The union is calling a one-day stoppage, which it says will be just the first if demands are not met.
Talks are scheduled for the Labour Relations Commission tomorrow to try to avert the dispute.
Pay and condition in the job are
So unattractive, SIPTU claims, that the company found it impossible to recruit new drivers in Limerick and Galway to fill vacancies recently. The drivers currently earn €11.66 per hour. “They have no pension, sick pay or other benefits. They are amongst the lowest paid workers in the public transport or education sec- tors. For example, school caretakers earn €14.38 per hour and other Bus Eireann drivers have a payscale run- ning from €13.15 to €15.23 per hour. SIPTU is seeking parity with full- time drivers and the same benefits as
all other Bus Eireann employees.”
SIPTU National Industrial Secre- tary, Michael Halpenny said that, ‘Employment conditions are so poor that it proved impossible to recruit new drivers recently in Limerick and Galway, when vacancies arose”.
Meanwhile, Bus Eireann said in a statement that it welcomes the deci- sion by SIPTU to enter talks with the company at the Labour Relations Commission on Wednesday, adding that it is hopeful that strike action can be averted.
A spokesperson for the company
said, “We welcome SIPTU’s deci- sion to participate in talks at the LRC and hope that Friday’s planned strike can be averted.”
The spokesperson added, “Any ac- tion would cause unnecessary dis- ruption and inconvenience for school children and their families.”
The company said that the pay claim had already been examined by the Rights Commissioner and reject- ed. SIPTU subsequently appealed the decision to the Labour Court and in May the court disallowed the ap- peal.