Shane Ross ‘had no objections’ to Bus Éireann restructuring

Minister for Transport Shane Ross raised no objections after he was given a detailed briefing on controversial plans to restructure Bus Éireann.

Highly placed sources said the Minister met the chairman and chief executive of the State -owned bus company on September 11th.

Bus Éireann management wants to separate its loss-making Expressway service from the rest of the company and introduce lower terms and conditions for staff.

Chief executive Martin Nolan has told staff that Bus Éireann’s finances were in a critical position. He said it lost €5.6 million last year and projected a €6 million loss this year.

It is understood Mr Ross has been given a more detailed version of the restructuring plan for its Expressway service, including different options for reducing pay and sub-contracting of routes.

Sources said management had a mandate from its board to implement the restructuring and all changes envisaged had been given to the Department of Transport, which had raised no objections.

Although Bus Éireann has traditionally not imposed compulsory redundancies, sources said nothing had been ruled at a company losing €500,000 per month.

The NBRU and Siptu who represent staff among the 2,600 workforce at the company have reacted furiously to the Bus Éireann proposals and are balloting members for strike action.

They have said they will not engage with the company on its proposals for the Expressway service.

The board of the company is to meet in six weeks. It is understood the board wants to incorporate moves to generate savings of €7 million into its budget for next year.

The company has also ruled out pay rises for staff. The unions have referred the company’s refusal to consider any pay rises for staff to the Labour Court.

Mr Nolan said Bus Éireann’s commercial Expressway inter-regional coach service was facing challenges from growing competition and increasing costs.

He said the company had formulated an outline commercial plan to address the severe financial difficulties it was facing.

“There will be some structural changes required in order to deliver the commercial plan. These will involve separating out the Expressway product entirely from the rest of the business and implementing new terms and conditions for staff within the Expressway product. It is proposed to sub-contract a number of routes within the plan, but it is expected that all routes currently operated will continue to operate.

“A new management and support structure will be implemented for the Expressway business. Other efficiency measures may be required across the entire business. Regulatory issues and market conditions would indicate that the company will need to restructure as it moves into the future. Staff will be consulted on these measures with a view to gaining agreement.”

NBRU general secretary of the Dermot O’Leary has said his union would not tolerate “the imposition of a low-wage bus transport service as a solution to a problem which has directly resulted from Department of Transport policy”.