Socialist Party Leaflet
CIE Protest:
No to Franchising - Fight Privatisation

"I WANT to move as quickly as possible to introduce controlled competition in the form of franchising as the primary means of regulating bus services in the greater Dublin area. Beginning with new services and extending on a phased basis to the existing service network" - Seamus Brennan, Minister for Transport, 7th Novemeber 2002

 Fianna Fail and the PDs are planning to break up CIE as part of their Thatcherite plans to privatise the state's public transport system.

CIE, An Post, Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta are just some of the semi-state companies that the government are planning to sell off to private sector profiteers. This will mean higher prices for consumers, job losses, wage cuts and non-union working conditions.

Brenna is planning to bring in 25% franchising in Dublin at the beginning of 2004, and to then phase in the complete privatisation of the Dublin bus network. This "model" will then be extended throughout the country. Multinational transport companies are already lining up to bid for these new franchises.

These companies will under-bid Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann for these contracts by employing non-unionised workers on short-term contracts, with lower wages, and no pensions schemes or benefits.

Campaign to Stop Privatisation

The traffic congestion crisis in Dublin and the rest of the country's major urban areas will be worsened by the privatisation of public transport (As has been the case in Britain). Ireland has the lowest public transport state subsidy in Europe. Dublin Bus receives a state subsidy of 11% compared to an average of 50% in northern European cities. A properly state funded public transport system is the only way to deal with the country's traffic congestion problems.

SIPTU, the NRBU and the other CIE group of unions need to take a principled stand against privatisation. Today's four hour stoppage should be the beginning of a major campaign by the CIE unions to stop privatisation. A major public relations battle should be fought by the unions which aims to educate the general public on how privatisation will result in a more expensive, and poorer public transport service.

Today's strike should be the first in a series of such stoppages and protests in order to send a warning shot across the government's bows that if they try and privatise CIE, the unions will bring the public transport system to a halt until they reverse their franchising and privatisation plans.

Britain

Thatcher's privatisation of public transport in the 1980s has been a disaster for transport workers and the public. Even Blair has raised the possibility of re-nationalising the railways because privatisation has meant massive fare hikes, a deteriorating service and many deaths, as profits have benn put before health and safety.

In the first six years after privatisation the operating costs of bus companies fell by 36%, the vast majority of these savings were made by cutting workers' wages. During the first 12 years after privatisation, bus fares in the Greater London area rose by 37%, and in the rest of the UK by 57%

The Socialist Party Says:

  • No to the privatisation of public transport
  • Stop the break up of CIE, fight Brennan's franchising plans
  • No to trade union "consultations" with government on privatisation - for a principled union stand against Fianna Fail and PDs sell-off plans
  • Fight the closure of Ianrod Eireann's freight service
  • No sell-off of CIE lands to private speculators
  • Decisively switch the emphasis from road building into public transport to upgrade rail infrastructure and service frequency
  • For an integrated public transport system that links buses, trains, DART, LUAS, the METRO and suburban rail
  • For a united campaign to stop the privatisation of state companies

Contact the Socialist Party @ (01) 6772592 or (01) 6183038

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