*Mo gets up on her high horse*
Dublin bus proposes to implement Working Time Act legislation, belatedly and limit their employees to working a maximum of 48 hours per week. The NBRU (national bus & rail union) have voted by a massive majority to implement industrial action as Dublin Bus will not be increasing their basic wage to compensate employees for the reduced amount of overtime they can now earn.
First of all, Dublin Bus does not compel their employees to work any overtime, it is possible to work all year through without working an hour's overtime at all. You are not penalised for this.
IMHO working overtime is a conscious choice that employees have to make for themselves - particularly in Dublin Bus, it's not as if the company has requested that the drivers work all these extra hours that they are presently doing.
One has to question the safety factor of professional bus drivers driving buses for longer than 48 hours a week. How much longer do they have to commute to get to and from work? How can we be sure that they have had sufficient rest times? Undoubtedly, lack of rest & adequate sleep will lead to a loss of concentration on the road. I would see the reduction in the amount of hours that the bus drivers can work as a positive move for all drivers on the road as a whole.
Dublin Bus pays their bus drivers well over the national minimum wage. The majority of bus drivers would actually earn over the average industrial wage. Now we, the taxpayer, are expected to pay Dublin Bus drivers extra so that they can be safe on the roads? Sorry, maybe I didn't phrase that correctly! What I'm trying to say is that we are now going to be held to ransom because they won't get as much overtime!
Please let me know I haven't lost the run of myself!
*Mo gets back down off her high horse*
(Disclaimer - A number of my family members do work for Dublin Bus, but I do not agree with the move by the NBRU. It is for this reason that i would quite well informed on Dublin Bus working practices, pay etc.)