Economy can’t afford transport disruption

THE escalation of the transport strike is an extremely serious development and merits the full attention of the Government.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has set out his reasons for not getting involved in the industrial dispute at Bus Éireann.

The minister says those calling on him to intervene want him to take out the cheque book to rescue the company, and he won’t do that.

But the dispute is now spreading across the public transport sector.

At this stage, it appears commuters will be left stranded as all three CIÉ companies face unofficial strike action sparked by the bitter bus dispute.

The troubled transport company, which could go bust in three months, will start to impose €12m payroll cuts on staff from Monday next week, sparking an indefinite all-out strike. Unions are now warning their members in other CIÉ companies will take unofficial action.

Irish Rail and Dublin Bus workers may refuse to pass the pickets or there could be wildcat strikes, leading to widespread chaos.

The uncertainty this will cause for commuters can only damage the economy.

The Dublin Bus and Luas disputes of the past 18 months resulted in passengers never being quite sure about what mode of transport was available to them in the morning to get to work – and whether they would be able to get home.

This caused a level of disruption in workplaces and brought extra traffic on to the roads.

The economy can’t afford another period of disruption so this dispute does need the Government to be quite clear on its stance: with or against Bus Éireann management.