Going Nowhere

at

buseireannrayhernan

Ray Hernan, acting CEO of Bus Éireann

In a letter yesterday Bus Éireann’s Acting CEO Ray Hernan notified staff of the immediate implementation of reforms, and said that there was no basis for convening further talks.

In a statement this afternoon, the NBRU said the letter:

“is clearly the straw that has broken the back in terms of spelling out exactly what the real agenda is here, the new management structure at Bus Éireann have clearly signalled that they are intent on pursuing a race to the bottom in relation to workers jobs, terms and conditions.

And to reposition Bus Éireann as a low cost transport provider, mimicking some of the rogue operators that populate the so-called interurban market.”

FIGHT!

Bus Éireann strike to go ahead from midnight (RTÉ)

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24 thoughts on “Going Nowhere

  1. Daddy

    Blah Blah Blah Ronald Reagan Blah Blah Air Traffic Controllers Blah Blah Blah Blah Easy Job Blah Blah Blah Blah Plenty of people will do it for less Blah Blah Public Transport Blah Blah Blah Blah

  2. DavidT

    BÉ were doing a perfectly good job until someone decided the market was big enough to let in competition. Hey, guess what? Like electricity, postal services, health care etc etc and so on, it’s not. It’s a small island, small population. One provider, properly overseen, is enough for most natural monopolies.

    Let’s open up NCT for competition. Or water. Or the railways. Or the government!

    1. Gorev Mahagut

      Yes.

      “Competition” only works in the provision of commodities and services that people can chose to do without. Lots of people rely on public transport, they don’t have the option of doing without or shopping around. (By “people” I obviously don’t mean FG and FF politicians or Shane Ross).

    2. realPolithicks

      “Competition” is another word for privatization and in these industries generally means a race to the bottom.

      1. MoyestWithExcitement

        Aye. “Globalisation” is another load of pocket marbles. All that means is that if I open, I dunno, Moyest Coffee and Croissants, Starbucks can move in next door to me. I, of course, simply do not have the means to extend my café brand to fooping Seatlle.

        1. MoyestWithExcitement

          Lads, if you’re going to change two words in my really short post, you could have had a go on the spelling mistake as well.

          1. MoyestWithExcitement

            I’m still seeing that post in premod. You clearly don’t. That is *quite* odd.

          2. mildred st. meadowlark

            That happens to me the odd time Moyest. You on the app? Try a ‘force close’ in app settings (or whatever it is). It worked for me in the past.

    3. brownsyndrome

      Eh they weren’t doing a good job which is why they are in trouble, no direct buses or routes that were in demand, like all public services people got the service the politicians wanted, indirect routes, no regional buses direct to Dublin airport “but no one will use our airport if buses go there” blah balh, “the bypasses killed the sweet shops” etc

    4. Turgenev

      What about funerals? Along with hospitals, why should they be profit-making? Surely they should be run by the State as a basic service paid for through taxes, and then if you wanted two black horses with ebony plumes and a glass coach for a hearse, a fancy coffin and the Chieftains, you paid for that yourself? Why on earth should it be a capitalists’ wet dream?

  3. peavolov

    BÉ and the X services are pretty good at the moment. I support the staff on this one. It’s needed

  4. MoyestWithExcitement

    I can’t wait for our Minister of Transport to tell us again how it isn’t his job to sort out public transport issues. Although in fairness to him, the sickness that is right wing / neoliberalism infected this country long ago. Maybe if we stopped taking money away from public transport so we can give discounts to millionaires on the resources of ours that they use, perhaps we wouldn’t have this problem.

    1. ivan

      I *kinda* applaud his attitude that everytime there’s industrial unrest the Minister shouldn’t get involved, because I’m not sure that it happens elsewhere that much. (do correct me if i’m wrong)

      Your second point, and what DavidT state above are, of course, the crux of the matter. You can have an entity that has a public service remit (but you can’t expect it – as a matter of course – to make money) or you can have an entity that has to sustain itself whereupon all public service stuff goes out the window.

      What you can’t have an entity with a public service remit and expect it to make money, especially not in a country like this where the population is distributed as it is.

      1. MoyestWithExcitement

        “I *kinda* applaud his attitude that everytime there’s industrial unrest the Minister shouldn’t get involved, because I’m not sure that it happens elsewhere that much. (do correct me if i’m wrong)”

        I wouldn’t be sure if it happens elsewhere myself but then I’m not sure many other countries take the American attitude to public services that we do. The staff of a statutory company are going on strike and taking away a *public* service that the people of this country rely on. The guy we put in charge of looking after our public transport issues really should be helping. I understand he couldn’t have had any sort of decision making power in the Transdev dispute but they were servicing a state contract. In fact, that state contract is the only one they had in the country. He could have influenced that. But small government, competition, free markets, blah blah blah.

        Obviously I agree with the rest of your post.

      2. The Real Jane

        *You can have an entity that has a public service remit (but you can’t expect it – as a matter of course – to make money) or you can have an entity that has to sustain itself whereupon all public service stuff goes out the window.*

        Its slightly worse than that, though. They’ve introduced competition to the profitable routes and expect BÉ to compete and make a profit and fulfil the public service remit. It’s ridiculous. And then to strip the workers to pay for the decisions they had no say in and expect them to wear it without murmur?

        1. Anomanomanom

          True,but not entirely. The pay levels and perks are genuinely beyond good. Like over €45+(cant find exact figure at the mo) for working bank holidays, Sunday extra pay as well. Yes I know we need a public service that services, but even if we expect it run at a lose, the loses its making are way way beyond acceptable.

          1. The Real Jane

            How have you arrived at this calculation? What assumptions are built into to it?

            Now my guess is that you’re talking out of your hat. You haven’t actually got any calculation with a variable for public need built in done at all. You’re just another begrudger who kind of resents other workers having decent conditions and, for reasons you can’t really explain, wants them brought down a bit.

          2. Anomanomanom

            The working contract, rates, over time and loses was widely published everywhere. Nobody needs the detail your trying to pull out of your bottom, if any company is losing the money they are then it needs something done with it. And your of those “no answer people”, you just try out words, like accusing begrudgery yet giving no answer on why those rates should apply for anyone any where in monstrously loss making company.

  5. Pip

    Furious. The BE ‘shortfall’ is peanuts in comparison to…. practically anything I could mention.
    And those new buses are GORGEOUS. Hoo hah!

    1. Sheik Yahbouti

      Lads, it’s truly heartening to see your clear sighted comments – anomanom excepted. Not a single knee jerk “holding the country to ransom”. Proud of you. If we can all see what needs to happen to provide A PUBLIC SERVICE, why can’t our ‘betters’.?

  6. Mick

    The last time I got on one of their busses it was filthy. The switches overhead were sticky and greasy with ingrained dirt. You could just tell no one gave a shit.
    Have always used private operators since. They are cheaper and more importantly cleaner.
    While I do believe in state owned infrastructure and unions I also hate demarcation

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