Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach's answer that this is commercial competition flags up why this is of interest to every transport worker not just Bus Éireann workers. The NTA has deliberately forced Bus Éireann into an uneven playing field of competition with the private operator to drag down the wages and conditions of workers. This will apply to Dublin Bus, DART and Irish Rail. If the NTA and the Government manage to drag people down in Bus Éireann, they will drag them down everywhere. This strike is of interest to other transport workers and it is indeed of interest to the public in general who are suffering as a result of the strike but will suffer more if the Taoiseach and the Government gets its way and diminishes the jobs and conditions of public transport workers. Will the Taoiseach come out to the gates with me at 1 p.m. tomorrow and welcome the hundreds of bus, rail and DART workers who will be there to tell the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport that he cannot wipe his hands of this? The Minister is involved, as are the Government and the NTA. They must participate in the solution to this strike and crisis. The power is on the streets. It will be outside the gates at 1 p.m. tomorrow. If the Minister does not listen to that, a national transport strike will be required and he will have to listen to DART, Dublin Bus and Luas workers, and train drivers when they down tools and say workers will not be dragged down by a race to the bottom by the policies of this Government. The Minister must get involved.

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