Were Dublin Bus workers right to strike?

After going on strike over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, Dublin Bus workers will now vote on a Labour Court proposal aimed at settling the dispute. As commuters scrambled to make alternative travel plans last week, we asked our Facebook followers if they supported the industrial action. Here’s an edited selection of some of the comments we received during the stoppage.

Donal Fallon: Very tough decision for anyone to make in this economic climate. Going on strike is not something anyone would do easily now. Best of luck to them. I hope it’s resolved quickly and the workers get something from it.

Jennifer McShane: I 100 per cent support them. I wish all the public sector would do the same.

Derek James Byrne: Yes, I support Dublin Bus workers and made that point by standing with them for a time at Summerhill depot. It is about time some group of employees got the ball rolling. This attack on their pay and conditions will come back on everyone if they back down, public and private sector.

Margaret Kelly-Ffrench: Best of luck to them all, I say. I wish the rest of us so-called (so not) well-paid public sector workers would down tools too and do the same. Leo Varadkar should try to live on a busman’s wage and work a busman’s roster. We can’t all afford to take a two month summer holiday like our glorious leaders and they have the cheek to continue cutting the salaries of public sector workers.

Ellen Paterson: Well, they have a very hard job at the best of times, having to deal with some dangerous people that get aggressive with them. And the fact that they are one-man/woman buses puts them at risk even more. So they deserve to be well paid, although it’s a pity there are some bus drivers that give the rest a bad name. Mostly the bus drivers are lovely, obliging people whose work involves long hours and comes with many risks. So yes, I do support the drivers. They do fantastic work.

Marian Connolly: Well, I am 100 per cent behind them. Good luck to you all.

Keith Carney: Yes I support them. This whole wages race to the bottom suits the Government and the wealthy only. It’s the only way to stand up nowadays. Best of luck to them.

Christie Murphy: Yes, we all should go on strike.

Pat Gannon: Funny that they’re not actually cutting the drivers’ wages, just their overtime. Aren’t they lucky to have overtime in these times so they take it out on ordinary workers who don’t have the same job protection that they have. It’s a bit of manners some of these drivers need to be taught.

Karen O’Reilly: Good luck to them all. It’s about time the Irish stood up and revolted to everything.

Alyson O’Connor: Support them 100 per cent. You can’t steamroll people into things!

Shirley Anne Creighton: Some families relied on this overtime to feed and keep their families. I know my dad did and got no thanks for it – core wages are s***!

Clár Ní Mhuireagáin Dhuffaigh: Not a hope. Their core wages haven’t been touched. They are complaining about cuts in overtime which is never guaranteed in any job. Get a grip. The rest of the working poor in this country would do anything for your job security.

Natasha Skelly: 100 per cent. It’s time people in this country started to stand up for themselves.

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