Industrial News - South Government to fund private bus companies! - Jobs, wages & services under threat Susan Fitzgerald |
Dublin Bus worker and Shop Steward John McCamley spoke to The Socialist about what this means for bus workers. In September 2006 the government and transport unions met to discuss the introduction of competition into Dublin Bus. At that meeting, the unions were informed that a minimum of 15% of new routes were to be opened up to private operators, but were given assurances that there would be no head to head competition with current Dublin Bus routes. Minister for Transport Martin Cullen is to publish legislation in the coming months which will allow for the creation of a Dublin Transport Authority. This body will effectively call the shots and coordinate all public transport agencies, including the Luas and the proposed Metro Project. John McCamley continues: "This latest attempt by the government to introduce its privatisation agenda in Dublin Bus represents one of the most serious attacks on our conditions to date. The proposed Dublin Transport Authority (DTA) is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the one hand, it is proposed that this body would introduce integrated ticketing and more co-ordination of the various transport companies throughout Dublin, Kildare, Meath and so on, which is fine and makes sense. But that’s a very small aspect of its role, ultimately its aim is to prise open the transport market for private operators. "Under the DTA the assurances about no “head to head” competition that our unions were given by the government in September mean nothing. Essentially Dublin Bus will be pitted against companies with a non-union, low paid workforce. Dublin Bus would no longer be able to regulate fares or even routes. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where cut backs will be made in order to remain “competitive”. The cuts will be in our wages and conditions. "Talk of an equal playing field is just nonsense. Private bus operators have tried to portray themselves as small business people locked in a David and Golliath type battle with Dublin Bus, but the reality is very different. For a start most of the “small” private operators have actually been bought up by transport multinationals such as Citylink and Firstcoach. Plus Dublin Bus is running at half the average subsidy of other EU countries and the Department of Transport have granted licences to private operators for routes which bypass towns that Bus Eireann are required to serve, giving them a competitive edge in the process." Transport workers faced down Brennan’s plans in 2004 and were prepared to strike to ensure that the government’s privatisation agenda at that time didn’t succeed. SIPTU and the NBRU came to the government’s rescue and called off that action at the eleventh hour. More recently, SIPTU verbally opposed the sell-off of Aer Lingus but in reality did nothing to stop it. These events are a warning to Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann workers, it is only by forcing their union leaders into action that jobs and services can be protected. What’s needed is a fighting campaign fully backed by SIPTU and the NBRU to save public transport from the profiteers, only this way can the jobs, wages and conditions of bus workers be defended. |
The Department of Transport have awarded a license to private bus company Citylink to operate the Galway-Cork route from 8 January. Citylink already operate the Galway-Dublin route, the most lucrative bus route in the state. It is estimated that the Galway-Cork route is the second busiest route in the State (there is no rail link between the two cities), with 450,000 customers per annum. Citylink is owned by the global transport corporation ComfortdelGro based in Singapore. ComfortdelGro own the second largest fleet of vehicles in the world, 40,000 at the last count. Bus Eireann use profits from lucrative city-to-city routes to finance loss-making routes that provide an important social service. Cross-subsidisation within the company accounted for €37 million in the years 2003-2006. This compares to the annual government subsidy of €25 million. |
Bus driver union reps. in Cork city have indicated that they will give serious consideration to restoring night-time bus services on the vandalism-plagued Number 3 route on condition that the Garda Siochana allocate sufficient resources to protect the bus run. |
