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A NEW ROSTER for Bus Éireann drivers is causing problems for the transport service, in the latest standoff between the company and unions.
Yesterday, Fianna Fáil TD for Meath East Thomas Byrne asked for an explanation after frequent bus cancellations in the county had come to his attention.
Buses failed to show up and services were cancelled without prior notice across various routes in the east of the country this week.
“In recent days, Bus Éireann has announced a list of cancellations at 7am each morning,” Byrne explained, which left commuters looking for a last-minute way to work and college.
RTÉ reports that the company said the delays have been caused by high rates of absenteeism, which coincided with the transport company’s new roster.
A spokesperson told RTÉ that absenteeism has doubled from 6% this time last year to 12%, at a time when absenteeism is falling elsewhere in the economy.
In response, Siptu condemned Bus Éireann’s “attempt to blame drivers”.
Siptu sector organiser Willie Noone said that its members made the company aware prior to the schedule changes that they thought routes could not be operated as advertised.
“Management was made aware that all the necessary drivers had not been route trained, it knew that certain journeys could not be done in the times allocated, and that rosters showing people working through the night on shifts of nearly 13-hours duration were not workable.
The issue of giving short breaks to drivers in remote locations, which did not allow drivers the chance to either avail of a toilet break or indeed take a rest period in line with legal requirements, had also been highlighted.
But the company said that the new roster and route changes were accepted by unions at a Labour Court ruling in May.
Problems at the State-run transport service – which has been incurring serious losses and teetered towards insolvency – boiled over earlier this year, culminating in three weeks of strikes which shut down public travel in much of the country.
Many passengers were left stranded with little other alternatives to get to work – a situation which now seems to have repeated itself in certain areas in the country’s east.
Byrne says that the last-minute cancellations, which Bus Éireann assures have now ceased, have been having a serious impact on communities.
“Many commuters across the county have experienced serious delays and have been left frustrated as a result of the recent cancellations,” he said.
Students from Meath have missed lectures in DCU and other universities because the bus they usually use has been delayed or cancelled entirely.
Other service users who have contacted me in recent days have had to cancel important hospital appointments because of the various cancellations and delays.
Drivers had not been route trained. FFS, says it all. No doubt if they were paid more money they would suddenly be able to work out how to follow the bus route, obey the rules of the road and stop at bus stops.
@Nick Allen: what would you know
@Nick Allen:
Time to wind up the company, sell the buses off to Aircoach or another private operator and apply to rezone the bus garage land for housing.
Private operators are the only way to go to ensure a decent service with little or no ‘absenteeism’.
@John: where do you park the buses then john outside your door?
You’d find better staff swinging on tyres in Dublin Zoo. A shambolic service from top to bottom.
@Dj:
LOL
They should be arguing over the poor service they provide to the paying public and the cesspit they call toilets at our main bus station. Traveling from Dublin to Sligo yesterday I helped an old man by holding the toilet door shut, that wasn’t just without a lock but the steel frame falling down and having to throw my coat over the door because you could see in. Great craic!
@Pat O’Connor: it’s one the worse toilets I’ve been in! Feels like it’s a haven for junkies to do drugs in too
Looks like the “only solution” will be privatisation. Deliberately making Bus Eireann unworkable.
That’s the neo-liberal agenda.
@Dave Doyle:
@Dave Doyle: The agenda is and has been for years give in to every demand those state employees put before them,now that policy has brought the state monopoly to the brink yet again ,you could set your countdown clock to the next strike threat from the time the last one ended,with an absolutely shocking 12% employee absent sick rate its well past time this state monopoly was put to sleep,permently for all our sakes.
@Richard Mccarthy: Or invested in and run properly as the public service it’s supposed to be.
Public services under neo-liberal governments are being run into the ground to the point of uselessness, just so they can be privatised, as the only viable solution.
So a driver called in sick and the company had no cover, sounds like bad management to me
@Paddy: Not if lots of them call in “sick” at the same time.
@Martin Flood: I’m sure lots of drivers call in sick every day, people do fall ill. But it could have being orchestrated by the drivers and if it was why would they? It’s fairly likely that management screwed up and had no cover for that particular route.
@Martin Flood: Particular when lots of them call sick at the same time!
@Paddy: because they are spoilt brats Paddy. Sounds like they voted in the rosters themselves but when the time came for them to go live they figured that they would rather stay in bed, call in SIPTU to bring management to task and try and get a few bob out of it.
@Paddy: 12% absenteeism That is effectivly 1 day in 8 for each employee…..
Most people take 1 or 2 a year (speaking in generalities)
12% means that someone takes off about 30 days a year (assuming 260 working days0
Even the 6% rate is 15 days a year 3 full working weeks………
In all my working life I dont know anyone who takes off 3 weeks a year sick. It shows workers are taking the p155
@Kevin McDonnell:
That’s not just sickness at 12% that’s a cause for calling in the ‘Centre for Disease Control’ as that is epidemic proportions.
@John: Exactly, it shows the drivers have a real issue with actually working
I am guessing that bus drivers in private companies are well below absentee rates of 6% never mind 12%………
They doubled the frequency of the bus from navan to have even more empty buses running each hour. I’ve no idea how they worked out that one as a requirement. It’s a mystery how they will make money on these changes.
Time to call time on this waste of space company. Wind it up, hand mums the route licences to private operators and let the bus eireann drivers get jobs elsewhere. Oh wait – they wouldn’t last in the private sector cos their antics wouldn’t be tolerated.
It’s all carefully orchestrated by the drivers. Produce a doctors certificate for each and every sick day or P45.
@Brian Lilly: counter the sick note with a P45, just watch those over-entitled arseholes snap back into line.
I’d support Bus Eireann to the hilt if theh pro ided a decent service, but they DON’T!!!!
A bus service that treats timetables like they’re loose guidelines.
You can bet your bottom dollar that there is a sick pay scheme that is being abused in this story. If they weren’t paid when they don’t bother showing up then absenteeism levels would rapidly drop.
@Michael Kelly: this is a fact.
Bring on the driverless buses and trains. Problem solved. No ‘operational problems, late arrival of another train’. Etc etc
Bus Aras is the most run down building I ever stood in. The toilets are disgusting and to think that we allow people visiting our country use them. Animals have better facilities. As for the bus service, it never runs on time. Drivers don’t know the routes and drive at a snails pace. The buses are freezing. Have air conditioning on blowing out cold air.
They have decided the quickest way to go from Virginia to O’Connell street is to go up the M3, onto the M50, to Finglas, Glasnevin, Phibsboro absolute joke. Caused bus loads of people to be late for work last week and now I see more cars on the road and less on the bus
Can’t wait for driverless buses and trains now to be fair
I travel up to Belfast and back to Dublin a bit at the weekends. I always use private coaches now as a point. I wouldn’t use BE unless it was a catastrophic emergency and it was the only service available. Joke of a service and should be wound up.
timetables? hahahaha what timetables????, we just drive around!
I hope Minister Ross gets involved before any more disruption to Bus Eireann services or may be not.
Pi€€ed off with the whole thing now, using Irish rail now.
If the drivers are not willing to perform their duties, privatise it, simple.
The loyal customer stood by them during their strike and now they are deliberately sabotaging their routes.
Cop on drivers or privatisation.
They have 15 hours shifts with 5 hours unpaid break, dont blame them, who would??? They never agreed to that and the management are lying, They want to f… up the company deliberately.
They have 15 hours shifts with 5 hours unpaid break, dont blame them, who would??? They never agreed to that and the management are lying, They want to fu…up the company deliberately.
Are they getting paid for sick leave days?
have your say