Sir, - The Chairman of CIE has as a stated ambition the restoration of pride for Dublin Bus drivers. Well, congratulations Mr Chairman, the overwhelming rejection of your mean-spirited viability plan has certainly restored the pride of this downtrodden bus driver.
In a time of economic boom you assumed drivers would work better if you cut their pay and conditions: £194 per week for a driver starting, a sort of "RyanAir of the Road". What of your "partners", the senior officials of SIPTU and the NBRU who collaborated with you in this vile scheme? What of their commitment to the eradication of low pay?
It is the remit of these people to protect and improve, within partnership, the pay and condition of their members. What could be witnessed in Donnybrook garage was all sorts of people scurrying around trying to sell this rotten deal. So much so that it was difficult to tell a well-paid company official from a well-paid union official.
As one who campaigned vigorously for the rejection of this deal, might I suggest that the 18 months it took to concoct this disgraced viability plan might have been better spent in negotiating a real and meaningful productivity deal? - Yours, etc., John White,
Lakelands Close,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.