Mr Paschal Donohue
Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport
Transport House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2

11th March 2016

Re: Transdev decision to Hire-in Buses to Replace Luas Service St. Patrick’s Day

Dear Minister,

I refer to the above and the extraordinary decision to hire-in replacement Buses to effectively break a legitimate Trade Dispute.

I have no wish or desire to comment on the merits of the Luas Drivers dispute with their employer, it is for both parties to sort whatever differences they may have.

However, the concern of the NBRU in this matter is the fact that this is a legitimate trade dispute between workers and their employer, such disputes can be settled in a number of ways, agreement can be reached by the parties, either directly or through a third party, the practice and tradition in this jurisdiction is through the Workplace Relations Commission and /or the Labour Court.

Yet another way of settling disputes is if one side decides to accept the position advanced by the other party. Such potential solutions are of course, for the protagonists to consider.

The decision by Transdev to break a legitimate strike is not a remedy one would find in the lexicon of dispute settlement solutions.

There are no circumstances by which justification can be brought to bear on an employer arbitrarily deciding to supplant the role of its workers by using other workers, more commonly know as ‘scab labour’ to circumvent a legitimate trade dispute.

What is even more galling here is the fact that a company funded by the taxpayer to provide public transport would even contemplate such a scenario, never mind actually resorting to sourcing buses to replace a light rail service they are contracted to provide.

Minister, workers, particularly those the NBRU represent in the public transport sector are legitimately entitled to ask if this decision by Transdev will become the template for other employers in the sector.

Whilst respecting your stated position of not directly intervening in this dispute, we do feel that your position as the Minister responsible for the tax payers money, which is provided to transport companies for the provision of public transport, behoves you to use your good offices to insist that Transdev would adhere to the recognised code of conduct in relation to trade disputes.

One also has to wonder if replacing the Luas service with buses will result in the NTA not levying fines on Transdev for breach of contract in not providing a service, thereby leading to the potential accusation that the state will be actually subsidising this attempt at strike breaking.
The NBRU has today had contact from a significant number of our members asking if we will be supporting Luas workers on St Patrick’s Day in their justifiable opposition to scab labour being used in their stead.

The simple answer to such a question, legalities aside, is that the Trade Union movement has a moral responsibility to support any worker who is on the receiving end of the type of sharp practice which was announced today by Transdev, the NBRU will not be found wanting in this regard.

Finally, the irony of a French company, (with that Country’s much vaunted Social Values)resorting to a Thatcherite policy to break a dispute should not go unnoticed by the politicians who are currently in the process of attempting to form a Government.

Yours Sincerely

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DERMOT O’LEARY
General Secretary