Around 190 Dublin Bus engineering operatives began a work-to-rule Sunday in a dispute over pay. Engineering operatives perform maintenance and general work to ensure buses keep running to deliver public transport services. The dispute centres on SIPTU, the workers’ union, seeking pay parity with their traffic operative colleagues who do the same work but are on higher pay.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said 'An independent external review of the roles of the engineering operatives and the traffic operatives supported the engineering operatives pay parity claim. However the Labour Court refused to recommend the award. This was a betrayal of the engineering operative workers. These workers are crucial to the delivery of the public transport that we rely on. They do the same work as the traffic operatives and they should get the same pay'.
'The workers’ patience has run out. They have been left with no other option, so they began a work-to-rule action at 9pm Sunday. Dublin Bus must accept the findings of the independent review and implement pay parity'.
'People Before Profit support the workers in their industrial action and we will raise this matter in the Dáil as soon as possible to demand that the Minister for Transport instructs Dublin Bus to implement pay parity'.