Unofficial Bus Strike...

Cleopatra12

Oh and i have it from a very reliable source(another union rep) that offers made by management to discuss the issue over the 128 were declined by some drivers....

SIPTU and the NBRU had nothing to do with the unoffical strikes yesterday or today. This was all caused by a few drivers who are somewhat hardline than the majority.

On another note, I am a Dublin Bus employee and i do not appreciate certain people telling me that they pay my wages via the tax that they.I take offence to it. I am with Meanmachine3 on this point.

I pay tax, so therefore using this logic i pay my own wages! Would a member of the public say something like this to a Doctor in the HSE who is treating them or to a teacher who is educating thier child? I dont think so.

Please remember that Dublin Bus is a Semi-State company. It makes a profit and losses and yes while it does recieve a subvention by the government but this by no means covers every cost. Dublin Bus employees are not public sector workers. A number of years ago there was a request that they be reclassified as so but this never happened, therefore people are employed by Dublin Bus not by the State. My wages are paid by Dublin Bus, not by the State (thanks christ otherwise would be nabbed by the pension levy).

liger

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I have a question for you liger, if you joined the other drivers on the unofficial stike do you expect to get paid for that time.

Are those Dubliners who lost a days pay or spent their hard earned wages on taxis not entitled to a reason as to why they had to do that. As for not travelling on 'your' bus, leave the route and times you're working (sic) as I am sure there are a lot of people looking forward to testing you on your communication skills with the general public.

No, If i had been involve in an unofficial strike i wouldnt expect to be paid.

As for posting my route, I'm a spare man and I couldn't tell you what route or times i'll be working tomorrow because I dont know. I have to wait until i get to the garage tomorrow.

Victor

Sensible_User - stay on topic.

The rest of you - be civil or leave.

shltter

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Ha, sure they can, so do they do so with bus sound effects to back up their story?! Get a grip, did you even hear the news clip?

I could clealy hear the drivers hazards on as he was talking to Gerry Ryan, i could clearly pick this up as it was easily audible.. plus i should be able to recognise such a sound having worked for a private bus operator, who by the way understand the meaning of the words 'customer service'.

Typical discredit anyone or anything which that discredits your cause, or its reasons.:rolleyes:

Plenty of empty buses sitting in depots all over Dublin this morning anyone can sit on one and turn the hazard lights on it means nothing.

If DB spokesperson goes on Morning Ireland and tells bare faced lies about broken windows I would put nothing past them.

John Mason

i have harristown on speed dial for the 40c and they are my first email contact, as well

disgraceful service

disgraceful customer service, as well

all in all a horrible company to deal with

ahmed.baher

I'm a civil servant and I don't care about the current situation, it's not my fault!
I don't want to have to pay for anything that I didn't cause.
Bus drivers appeal to me, because they stand up for themselves.
In my opinion I shouldn't be punished because I am not to blame for the mistakes of others!
I live my life and I take no responsibility as long as my salary keeps rolling in.
I like bus drivers because I can identify with them in relation to my life.
I have gotten used to standards, don't you know.
What would any of you know how much it costs to go out 3 times a week, shop only in Dunnes (cause it costs more it's better), keep 3 cars, several houses here and abroad, jet the family about, go shopping, etc...
Try keeping that going on a measly €100k!
Benchmarking means more money for me every year, that's why it was invented.
Of course you little taxpaying people wouldn't know about that now, would you.

shltter

Cleopatra12 wrote: »

Oh and i have it from a very reliable source(another union rep) that offers made by management to discuss the issue over the 128 were declined by some drivers....

SIPTU and the NBRU had nothing to do with the unoffical strikes yesterday or today. This was all caused by a few drivers who are somewhat hardline than the majority.

.

What your listening to is internal union politics. The old guard of the NBRU which has basically operated in the interests of the company for whatever reason is under threat. Bit of new blood coming through replacing people who have been busy feathering their own nest.
To undermine these people the leadership of the NBRU label everyone who is not in their camp as BWAG and charges them with being politically motivated.

The truth is that the National leadership of the NBRU have absolutely no standing in a few of the garages and they as much as the company set about undermining the position of the Drivers in Harristown. The NBRU Leadership were spreading the intimidation stories to other garages on Monday and again on Tuesday the drivers in Harristown are not sheep they know what they were promised and they know that the leadership at national level did not only not support them but did their best to undermine them.


Perhaps if the union reps in Harristown were organising private hires and lads being paid in envelopes to do those private hires the leadership would be more accommodating of them.


As for SIPTU they are even worse completely controlled by Liberty Hall they can't pass water with J O'C giving the nod. You would be better off ****ing your union dues out the window than giving it to Liberty Hall.

AlekSmart

A period of calm and restraint may well be the order of the day or at least for a few hours anyway.

With the return to work at Harristown one would hope for some sanity,like peace, to begin dropping slowly.

I take shltter`s point about not personally witnessing any intimadatory behaviour but I suppose one person`s smart alek remark can be anothers deadly threat ?

Hopefully everybody (Particularly Dublin Bus SENIOR Management) will use the next few days to engage fully in some REAL negotiations in ALL locations.

Harristown,oddly enough,does not have sole possession of the hard-done-by voucher.
There are several other sets of issues still sitting there ticking away which need active and concentrated negotiation to deliver some form of viable working arrangements.

One of these is the very concept of how we structure our particular version of Shift Work.

A major aspect of the current problems,as evidenced by the many posts commenting on driver changeovers,is how any group of workers operating a wide ranging and essentially anti-social pattern of shift duties can ever be regulated by sets of Operational Rules drawn up by and for persons who work Monday to Friday 0900-1700 with every weekend off.

The EU Working Time Directive represents the latest travesty in this regard as it sets in stone perfectly sensible sounding requirements re working time and particularly rest-periods which however,once applied to 5 cycle shift working spread over a 20 hour operational day are largely impossible to adhere to without the entire thing actually making the shift-workers conditions WORSE,something which is totally counter to the workers-rights philosophy which the WTD is based upon.

Added to the Working Time Directive are the various requirements of the Road Traffic Acts in regard to Driving and Working Times which can sometimes conspire to muddy the waters even further,as they currently are in relation to the definition of Rest Periods under the WTD vs The Irish Road Transport regulations.

There also remains the issue of what the term "Representation" actually now means in terms of Dublin Bus and The Established Trades Unions.

If the Busworkers Action Group or other "Independent" Representative groups are now claiming some form of semi-official standing then this needs to be recognised and the mechanisms put in place to address it.

And just to end on a bit of an OT note.....

.I'm just a commuter. What do you want, like in Glasgow where First are providing shocking service to their commuters or Aircoach are in Dublin where they constanly swear, drive like madmen and rubbish the competition.

I understand Aircoach are recieving a visit tomorrow from Senior UK First Group Managers to hold some form of "Open Talk" meeting with it`s Staff.

In the context of the past week it`ll be interesting to see if the "Other Half" actually lives any differently at all

Jip

dub_commuter wrote: »

By the way, just for your information the 40D does not call at Parnell Square, it does from Parnell Street.

That's the best argument you can come up with ?!??! Pulling me up on saying Square instead of Street


At least some drivers have sense and said it as it is without trying to put some bs spin on it, from todays Times. (unless of course that's simply another actor employed by management, eh Shltter ?)

However, when the dispute ended yesterday afternoon, a driver who had taken part in the protest said he was glad to be returning to work.

“You had a faction of militant drivers there that wouldn’t agree to whatever case you put in front of them,” he said.

“I’m glad that we’re back at work because that’s where we should be. Let’s call a spade a spade. We have to change because our economy’s changing.”

shltter wrote:

Plenty of empty buses sitting in depots all over Dublin this morning anyone can sit on one and turn the hazard lights on it means nothing.

Seruously ****ter, you keep getting funnier and funnier. You guys really do live in a different world than the rest of us.

Carawaystick

AlekSmart wrote: »

One of these is the very concept of how we structure our particular version of Shift Work.

A major aspect of the current problems,as evidenced by the many posts commenting on driver changeovers,is how any group of workers operating a wide ranging and essentially anti-social pattern of shift duties can ever be regulated by sets of Operational Rules drawn up by and for persons who work Monday to Friday 0900-1700 with every weekend off.

as if they actually work til 5pm especially on a Friday....


Another Driver mentioned upthread that drivers are not allowed answer passengers legitemate queries unless they are stoped at a bus stop, even to tell passengers they can't talk to them. Is this clearly explained on the bus? or even on dublin bus's website?

Have dublin bus changed the timetables on the bus stops where the services have been reduced? Do these new timetables show the fares from that stop?

MOH

liger wrote: »

2. If you think you can abuse a driver for what has happened over the last couple of days, your out of order. No employee should have to face abuse in any job. If it happens to me and the person wont travel on the bus.

I've always been polite to bus drivers, just as I am to anyone working in any piblic facing job, since I feel they probably have to deal with a lot of crap that's not their fault. But after the last few days, I'm going to be as pig ignorant as I can, without actually crossing the line to abuse, to any drivers on Harristown or Clontarf routes. And if I see any of them doing anything they're not supposed to safety - from talking to passengers while the bus is moving to running red lights, or anything else meanmachine mentioned earlier - I'll be lodging an official complaint with DB.

_blank_

Are Harristown still on curtailed service, or were they too lazy to send the first scheduled 40c this morning?

****.

Late for work.

Third time this week.

John Mason

that 40C is the pointless service ever

angel01

Des wrote: »

Are Harristown still on curtailed service, or were they too lazy to send the first scheduled 40c this morning?

****.

Late for work.

Third time this week.

No I believe it was a normal service.

_blank_

angel01 wrote: »

No I believe it was a normal service.

It's normal for a bus to not arrive and for me to be late again?

Hmmmmmmm?

AlekSmart

Carawaystick posts.....

Another Driver mentioned upthread that drivers are not allowed answer passengers legitemate queries unless they are stoped at a bus stop, even to tell passengers they can't talk to them. Is this clearly explained on the bus? or even on dublin bus's website?

Have dublin bus changed the timetables on the bus stops where the services have been reduced? Do these new timetables show the fares from that stop?

.

Simple answer is No and No.

dub_commuter

Carawaystick wrote: »

Have dublin bus changed the timetables on the bus stops where the services have been reduced? Do these new timetables show the fares from that stop?

No, and No.

There have been several stops in certain locations in the city that have been wrong for months or even years in some cases, so how on earth do you expect them to fix this?

meanmachine3

MOH wrote: »

I've always been polite to bus drivers, just as I am to anyone working in any piblic facing job, since I feel they probably have to deal with a lot of crap that's not their fault. But after the last few days, I'm going to be as pig ignorant as I can, without actually crossing the line to abuse, to any drivers on Harristown or Clontarf routes. And if I see any of them doing anything they're not supposed to safety - from talking to passengers while the bus is moving to running red lights, or anything else meanmachine mentioned earlier - I'll be lodging an official complaint with DB.

now MOH.be nice
yes i did say that, but theres alot of us willing to break those rules to help out other passengers. i've said alot of good and bad things here. rightly or wrongly only the mods can decide. but if you got on my bus today,tomorrow or any other day you would never suspect that the person your dealing with was the mean. i've often broken the rules and will continue to do so where i see fit to help out the passengers i carry. now before you getting you go black book because some driver is talking to a passenger, stop/pause/think, this guy could be helping out someone thats lost or have a problem.
the day i get my ass hauled in over a passenger complaint becuase i was talking or dealing with someone is the day my screen goes up and the only contact i'll have is to issue fares and do everything by the book, if you dont ring the bell or it's rang to late tough you'll get of at the next stop, if you want to get off at an un-authorised stop tough. my dear friend the list is endless. as the saying goes it's swings and roundabouts
i've had two recent cases where i broke the rules ( thats within the last 2 weeks by the way).
(1) i picked up someone at a stop other than mine with a heavy luggage case.
(2) some poor woman lost her phone on another bus from another garage by the time she got where she was going on my bus the phone was found and ready to be collected at a later stage. this was because i was talking to her whilst driving oh she was sitting at the back of the bus as well, contacting other personell while driving.
if it be known, whats makes my day is actually helping people out and getting satisfaction knowing what i've done is the right thing as far as i'm concerned.kinda brings out the feel good factor in me
oh your red lights MOH, be careful on that one. remember theres a point of no return.
now if you were to go down the road of reporting things just take into account the following two major obstacles we face everyday which we could forego.
double parking while loading and unloading. bus drivers have got points on their license for this.
stopping at bus stops which are clogged by people having coffee breaks amongst other things, people have fallen and claimed of D/B for this by the way. in the tarf drivers used to drive past stops that were in-accessable for the very reason i mentioned only to get abuse from passengers. maybe you should get onto the proper authorites and have something done about this.

dub_commuter

MOH wrote: »

I've always been polite to bus drivers, just as I am to anyone working in any piblic facing job, since I feel they probably have to deal with a lot of crap that's not their fault. But after the last few days, I'm going to be as pig ignorant as I can, without actually crossing the line to abuse, to any drivers on Harristown or Clontarf routes. And if I see any of them doing anything they're not supposed to safety - from talking to passengers while the bus is moving to running red lights, or anything else meanmachine mentioned earlier - I'll be lodging an official complaint with DB.

And if you are going to do that the drivers could do the same:

No passenger shall travel:-
(a) on the upper deck of a double deck vehicle unless he/she occupies a seat provided for that purpose, or
(b) on the stairways of a vehicle, or
(c) on any other part of a vehicle which is not provided for the conveyance of passengers.

No passenger who, in the opinion of an authorised person, is in a state of intoxication or otherwise in an unfit or improper condition shall board or remain on the vehicle.

No person shall consume alcoholic drinks or other beverages or food while on the vehicle. No person shall spit in or from the vehicle.

No person while on the vehicle shall sing, perform on any musical or other instruments or use any audible radio, television, record player, tape recorder or portable apparatus.

No person shall at any time while on the vehicle use any threatening, abusive or offensive language.

So that would mean no eating, no drinking, no swearing, no use of MP3 players, radios, etc, If you want to be strict I'm sure they can be too.

angel01

Des wrote: »

It's normal for a bus to not arrive and for me to be late again?

Hmmmmmmm?

Well according to the DB site, it was a normal service, perhaps you were just unlucky as the bus route that I use from Harristown garage turned up fine this morning.

_blank_

angel01 wrote: »

perhaps you were just unlucky

Or perhaps they just arbitrarily cancelled the service, as they are wont to to.

I wish they'd just bulldoze the Harristown Garage and fire the bleedin' lot of them.

From the management to the drivers, each and every one of them.

This is not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last time that particular service is cancelled.

The only reason I can see for it is their laziness. It's the FIRST 40C out fo the garage, so over-run on timetables is not an excuse for this.

****.

MOH

meanmachine3 wrote: »

now MOH.be nice

But I have been nice. I've always been nice. And in return the muppets in Harristown have given me 3 days without service (this time round, plus the last time). So I'm not going to be nice any more - that seems fair to me.

now before you getting you go black book because some driver is talking to a passenger, stop/pause/think, this guy could be helping out someone thats lost or have a problem.

I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the guys driving along having an extended chat with someone they know.

the day i get my ass hauled in over a passenger complaint becuase i was talking or dealing with someone is the day my screen goes up and the only contact i'll have is to issue fares and do everything by the book, if you dont ring the bell or it's rang to late tough you'll get of at the next stop, if you want to get off at an un-authorised stop tough. my dear friend the list is endless.

If I ring the bell too late and the driver doesn't stop, I never blame them. I do though when I've rung the bell in good time and they've failed to stop, either due to being to busy chatting to someone or not hearing the bell and telling me I didn't push it hard enough ()

if it be known, whats makes my day is actually helping people out and getting satisfaction knowing what i've done is the right thing as far as i'm concerned.kinda brings out the feel good factor in me

And fair dues to you. Anyway, unless you're on any of the routes that were pulled this week you're not on my craplist, although I do apologise in advance to any drivers I'm rude to who weren't involved.

oh your red lights MOH, be careful on that one. remember theres a point of no return.

I get that, and that there's a longer stopping distance for a bus than a car, but there's no excuse for accelerating through lights when it was perfectly possible to stop. And trying to make up time due to being late isn't a valid one.

double parking while loading and unloading. bus drivers have got points on their license for this.
stopping at bus stops which are clogged by people having coffee breaks amongst other things, people have fallen and claimed of D/B for this by the way.

That's another one to add to the list then.

DubCommuter wrote:

And if you are going to do that the drivers could do the same:

No passenger shall travel:-
(a) on the upper deck of a double deck vehicle unless he/she occupies a seat provided for that purpose, or
(b) on the stairways of a vehicle, or
(c) on any other part of a vehicle which is not provided for the conveyance of passengers.

Yep, agree with all that.

No passenger who, in the opinion of an authorised person, is in a state of intoxication or otherwise in an unfit or improper condition shall board or remain on the vehicle.

May as well pull all Nitelinks then.

No person shall consume alcoholic drinks or other beverages or food while on the vehicle.

Agree with that, mostly, although if drivers stop people stuck in traffic on sweltering buses from taking a drink, they're only going to end up with bigger problems to deal with when someone faints. Or barfs.

No person shall spit in or from the vehicle.

Oh no. God forbid drivers get strict on that one.
(actually, does that technically mean you can spit onto the vehicle once you're not on it? Odd.)

No person while on the vehicle shall sing, perform on any musical or other instruments or use any audible radio, television, record player, tape recorder or portable apparatus.

Oh no, I can no longer play my portable turntable at high volume.

No person shall at any time while on the vehicle use any threatening, abusive or offensive language.

Again, you think it would be a bad thing if drivers got strict on that?

So that would mean no eating, no drinking, no swearing, no use of MP3 players, radios, etc, If you want to be strict I'm sure they can be too.

Eh no, it wouldn't mean no use of MP3 player - just not at high volumes that are audible to others. Which is fine by me.


So, great then!!

meanmachine3

look it des, i know your a mod for different areas other than here but over the last day or two things have got out of hand in here on both sides but calling us **** everytime isn't going to solve the problem, if your that peeved i'd suggest ringing the garage in question and asking where your bus is, like most people with common sense do or better even still write a strongly worded letter to either joe meagher or the other guy in overall charge of C.I.E. (cant remember his name) and stop lamb basting us day in day out. the strike is over lets get on with our lives. it could've been alot worse. these days a work to rule would've had a far greater and deeper impact than what just happened over the last few days.
i wonder if mods dish out red cards to one another :rolleyes:
somehow i can see one coming my way, but heck who cares

shltter

Des wrote: »

Are Harristown still on curtailed service, or were they too lazy to send the first scheduled 40c this morning?

****.

Late for work.

Third time this week.

Perhaps it was just your first taste of exactly what the 48 hour week means.

As was mentioned here on numerous threads the 48 hour week is going to create a lot of missing services as the flexibility that drivers offered in working rest days, overtime, standbys, duty swaps etc has been largely curtailed.

But that is only one possiblity maybe you could ring harristown and ask them why it never turned up ????

John Mason

:mad:

meanmachine3 wrote: »

look it des, i know your a mod for different areas other than here but over the last day or two things have got out of hand in here on both sides but calling us **** everytime isn't going to solve the problem, if your that peeved i'd suggest ringing the garage in question and asking where your bus is, like most people with common sense do or better even still write a strongly worded letter to either joe meagher or the other guy in overall charge of C.I.E. (cant remember his name) and stop lamb basting us day in day out. the strike is over lets get on with our lives. it could've been alot worse. these days a work to rule would've had a far greater and deeper impact than what just happened over the last few days.
i wonder if mods dish out red cards to one another :rolleyes:

i write a strongly worded letter to Harristown about the 40C at least once a week, i never get a response.

There is no point in ringing them cos they just tell you the bus is there, when clearly it isnt :rolleyes:

at the end of the day, Dublin Bus is a disgrace and it should be privatised at least then someone will be accountable.

that 40C didnt turn up for 4 days in a row, i phoned harristown to see if it had been cancelled and i was told by the muppet on the phone that he didnt know if he would be alive in the morning, nevermind whether my bus would turn up

Seriously, this is what us tax payers are paying for

_blank_

meanmachine3 wrote: »

if your that peeved i'd suggest ringing the garage in question and asking where your bus is

I have done this many times in the past, only to be told "Walk to the 40A Stop there'll be one in a few minutes".

Yeah, real helpful. :rolleyes:

meanmachine3 wrote: »

or better even still write a strongly worded letter to either joe meagher or the other guy in overall charge of C.I.E. (cant remember his name)

For it to be put straight in the shredder, er, no thanks.

meanmachine3 wrote: »

and stop lamb basting us day in day out.

Nope, every time my bus doesn't turn up, I'll be reporting it here. If you don't like that, then tough.

meanmachine3 wrote: »

the strike is over

It wasn't over in Harristown this morning when the 8.50 40C didn't turn up.

meanmachine3 wrote: »

lets get on with our lives.

I wish I could, but being late for work three days in a row doesn't sit well with the boss man I'm afraid. Verbal warnings all round in here, all because of a poxy bus driver. Thanks.

meanmachine3 wrote: »

i wonder if mods dish out red cards to one another :rolleyes:

Up until the day before yesterday, moderators were unable to infract other moderators, due to a technical issue with the vBulletin Software, but it is possible now, thanks to the Developer employed by Boards.ie

dub_commuter

Des wrote: »

Or perhaps they just arbitrarily cancelled the service, as they are wont to to. I wish they'd just bulldoze the Harristown Garage and fire the bleedin' lot of them.

From the management to the drivers, each and every one of them.

This is not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last time that particular service is cancelled. The only reason I can see for it is their laziness. It's the FIRST 40C out fo the garage, so over-run on timetables is not an excuse for this.

The 40C, as they are so infrequent are inter worked with the 40A's. So it's not the first duty of the driver for that particular day, a driver will not operate 40C's all day, they will operate a combined duty of A's and C's.

The first 40C leaves terminus at 8.50, and the second at 9.40, I imagine you got the second one then?

MOH wrote: »

If I ring the bell too late and the driver doesn't stop, I never blame them. I do though when I've rung the bell in good time and they've failed to stop, either due to being to busy chatting to someone or not hearing the bell and telling me I didn't push it hard enough.

Never seen this happen in Harristown, seen it happen in Donnybrook though and on the 38's in Phibsborough.

That's another one to add to the list then.

Yes, of course, stopping the drivers from helping the public and a complete stone wall service is what we all want where none of them make an effort, get a grip, we should be praising the drivers who help their customers rather than the ones who don't give a toss.

Agree with that, mostly, although if drivers stop people stuck in traffic on sweltering buses from taking a drink, they're only going to end up with bigger problems to deal with when someone faints. Or barfs.

Eh no, it wouldn't mean no use of MP3 player - just not at high volumes that are audible to others. Which is fine by me.

But if you are going to take a hard line approach to the rules, then I can hear MP3 players of people in front of me every day almost, very very quietly, but even if I can only hear it a little bit, it's still audiable, therefore it is breaking the rules.

Of course this is being petty and taking things to the extreme, and I've never seen any driver ever do this with MP3 players and they are normally sensible about drinks. However remember you are the one who wanted strict law enforcement, and the laws are there, so don't moan if they do the same back.

_blank_

shltter wrote: »

Perhaps it was just your first taste of exactly what the 48 hour week means.

Ah yes, the new practices are being blamed by drivers, didn't see that one coming at all, nice try, but as I've said, the 40C arbitrarily and without warning is cancelled on a fairly regular basis. Has been for the last year since I started using it.

shltter wrote: »

But that is only one possiblity maybe you could ring harristown and ask them why it never turned up ????

I will do when I have my lunch break from work, thanks to Dublin Bus Drivers, I am afraid to leave my desk for any other reason.

Polar101

angel01 wrote: »

Well according to the DB site, it was a normal service, perhaps you were just unlucky as the bus route that I use from Harristown garage turned up fine this morning.

My regular bus didn't show up either, despite the wonderful web site claiming they are pleased to announce a full service has been resumed.

..so I was late from work.

dub_commuter

meanmachine3 wrote: »

i wonder if mods dish out red cards to one another :rolleyes:
somehow i can see one coming my way, but heck who cares

Don't worry, I get the feeling too, I haven't resorted to swearing at anyone myself and wouldn't but others feel the need to.

pink fluffy bunny wrote: »

i write a strongly worded letter to Harristown about the 40C at least once a week, i never get a response.

There is no point in ringing them cos they just tell you the bus is there, when clearly it isnt :rolleyes:

Why don't you call the manager of the depot? The number is on the Dublin Bus website and in my experience he is quite approachable. Note, this is a different number from the depot itself.

i phoned harristown to see if it had been cancelled and i was told by the muppet on the phone that he didnt know if he would be alive in the morning, nevermind whether my bus would turn up

Sorry, find that very hard to believe.