Around 70,000 passengers who use Bus Éireann services daily face the prospect of industrial action at the company after management said that it intended to implement unilaterally a controversial cost-saving plan from the end of this month.
Under the cost-recovery programme, about 320 jobs at the company would go with around 50 routes initially either being scrapped or having their level of frequency reduced.
The company is also planning to introduce revised terms and conditions for staff including the deferral of payment of the national wage agreement, changes to shift allowances, increased flexibility regarding working arrangements, reduction in overtime and the withdrawal of compensation for loss of earnings and disturbance allowance.
The company told trade unions today that it would be unilaterally implementing the plan, which is aimed at saving €25 million, after a deadline it had set passed without agreement.
Bus Éireann said in a statement that due to the economic downturn which had seen passenger numbers fall by 10 per cent, that it was currently losing more than €500,000 per week.
It said that it now had "no choice but to take action to address these losses as quickly as possible in order to protect as many services and jobs as possible, while returning the company to a position of financial strength".
The company said that changes to terms and conditions for staff would come into effect from June 29th.
"Changes to service levels will begin on July 5th 2009 and be phased in over a period of time. Customers on routes where changes are to take place will be informed in advance of the changes coming into effect. In making these changes we will look to minimise the impact on our customers," it said.
"The majority of these changes will involve either reductions in the frequency of a service or a change in its route. Some services that are not economically viable in the current economic environment will be withdrawn and in such instances we will try to ensure that an alternative service is available to the small number of customers affected in their general area."
It is understood that the company intends to reduce the number of drivers in tandem with the withdrawal or changes to services under a limited voluntary redundancy scheme.
Around 220 drivers could go as part of the overall cost-cutting programme.
It is understood that the company is prepared to offer a severance package of statutory plus one week's pay per year of service to drivers volunteering to leave along the lines of a similar scheme introduced in Dublin Bus.
It is understood that if the €25 million in savings sought in the first phase of the recovery programme are not delivered that a review of the frequency of a further 47 routes will be carried out by the company.
Siptu sectoral organiser, Andrew McCarthy said tonight that the company appeared to be in complete breach of procedures in place for dealing with disputes.
He said that if management did not adhere to the agreed procedures the union may have no choice but to ballot members at Bus Éireann for strike action.
Labour spokesman on transport Tommy Broughan said the cuts would be shocking news for commuters.
"It is astonishing that this level of cutbacks are being planned for Bus Eireann given that the government commissioned Deloitte and Touche report in effect recently gave the company a clean bill of health and described it as 'largely efficient' with 'limited' scope for 'significant cost savings," he said.
"Public bus networks and services are being decimated around the country. The savage scale of Bus Eireann cutbacks will particularly hit senior citizens and other vulnerable citizens in rural areas given the already existing massive rural public transport gap."
he called on the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, to intervene.
