AN ALL-OUT indefinite strike at Bus Éireann is on the cards after talks on a cost-cutting plan collapsed. Union chiefs accused company management of pursuing an agenda of low wages after insisting savings of 12 million euro (£10m) were needed immediately or the business would go bust in May. Bus Éireann has proposed shutting three loss-making services – the 833 Dublin to Derry, the X7 Dublin to Clonmel and the 021 Athlone to Westport – to save more than €1m (£850,000). Other routes could be kept but the frequency of services stripped back as the company revealed losses of €9.4m (£8m) for last year and €1.5m (£1.2m) for January alone. Management is also looking at rewriting rotas, shifts, overtime, spare driver arrangements, hiring buses, sick pay, bonuses and expenses. Unions said they are waiting for management to announce changes before any potential strike action is taken.
Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), said a strike was inevitable.
