Unofficial Bus Strike...

meanmachine3

MOH wrote: »

Yes, but since your response to many other posts seems to be "I never saw it", well, "I never saw you experience it" seems just as valid a response from me.



"No person shall consume alcoholic drinks or other beverages or food while on the vehicle."
A lot of definitions of "beverage" specifically exclude water, so if any driver kicks me off a bus for drinking water, I'll certainly have an issue.

You also (deliberately?) omitted a number of other conditions of the bye-laws:
"- No person shall smoke or carry a lighted pipe, cigarette, cigar or cheroot in any vehicle or part of the vehicle.
- No person shall molest or interfere with the comfort or convenience of any passenger or person in or about the vehicle.
- No person shall behave in a riotous, disorderly, indecent or offensive manner in or about the vehicle."

If drivers were to rigidly enforce all the conditions of travel, then on balance journeys would a lot more pleasant.

It's also quite difficult to find these - there's no link that I could see on the DB website.

please tell me how drivers can enforce all this stuff if their hands are tied. i put in we then omitted it because i've no problem doing that,i have done it in the past. i've pulled up passengers over either talking to loudly on their phones or playing music to loud.
jasus what have i said i'm definately for the chop now if i'm ever found.
i know of one female driver in the city that takes drink of passengers getting on then hands it back when they're getting of.

_blank_

meanmachine3 wrote: »

i'm not that easily offended, where i am though is where double standards apply and where that other goon posted about paying my wages whether he said it in jest or not.
it's amazing that someone here gets a red card for calling someone a tool yet when the word wanker is used amongst others then it's just passed over. i've never been one for double standards.
now i await to see if another red card is going to be issued.
but the funniest thing of all here is there have been media reports of people spending time and money on social net working sites while in their jobs and here some of you are whinging and cribbing that your bus didn't show up to bring to you work, how ironic is that. bitching and moaning because you've no bus , when you do get the bus to work where are you, well on here of course :eek:

It's not the language used, it's the way it's directed.

Personal Abuse is not allowed on Boards.ie, as a whole.

However, calling a bunch of faceless people a name isn't Personal Abuse.

This is how I mod my forums anyway.

I may ask for the language to be toned down, and in fairness, I did tone it down myself after people started complaining.

shltter

MOH wrote: »

Yes, but since your response to many other posts seems to be "I never saw it", well, "I never saw you experience it" seems just as valid a response from me.



"No person shall consume alcoholic drinks or other beverages or food while on the vehicle."
A lot of definitions of "beverage" specifically exclude water, so if any driver kicks me off a bus for drinking water, I'll certainly have an issue.

You also (deliberately?) omitted a number of other conditions of the bye-laws:
"- No person shall smoke or carry a lighted pipe, cigarette, cigar or cheroot in any vehicle or part of the vehicle.
- No person shall molest or interfere with the comfort or convenience of any passenger or person in or about the vehicle.
- No person shall behave in a riotous, disorderly, indecent or offensive manner in or about the vehicle."

If drivers were to rigidly enforce all the conditions of travel, then on balance journeys would a lot more pleasant.

It's also quite difficult to find these - there's no link that I could see on the DB website.

It is not up to a driver to enforce them if a driver is made aware of them he/she is to call control and they will alert the Gardai and or an Inspector.

However the problem is that if someone is up stairs for example acting the maggot the driver cannot actually see and identify the person it requires the passengers to stand up and identify the person responsible to the Gardai and unfortunately the vast majority are unwilling to do that.

What is clearly needed for the Luas and bus services is a dedicated Garda unit to police public transport in the city.

shltter

Des wrote: »

It's not the language used, it's the way it's directed.

Personal Abuse is not allowed on Boards.ie, as a whole.

However, calling a bunch of faceless people a name isn't Personal Abuse.

This is how I mod my forums anyway.

I may ask for the language to be toned down, and in fairness, I did tone it down myself after people started complaining.

Hang on if drivers here have identified themselves as drivers then a poster calling all DB drivers **** is personal abuse.

If I went over to the Rugby forum and said all rugby players are **** or scum that would clearly be abuse directed at posters on that forum who had identified themselves as rugby players would it not.

_blank_

shltter wrote: »

Hang on if drivers here have identified themselves as drivers then a poster calling all DB drivers **** is personal abuse.

If I went over to the Rugby forum and said all rugby players are **** or scum that would clearly be abuse directed at posters on that forum who had identified themselves as rugby players would it not.

Give it a try

Also, nobody, to my knowledge, has identified themselves as a driver from Harristown, to whom I was specifically referring.

MOH

meanmachine3 wrote: »

please tell me how drivers can enforce all this stuff if their hands are tied. i put in we then omitted it because i've no problem doing that,i have done it in the past. i've pulled up passengers over either talking to loudly on their phones or playing music to loud.
jasus what have i said i'm definately for the chop now if i'm ever found.
i know of one female driver in the city that takes drink of passengers getting on then hands it back when they're getting of.

shltter wrote: »

It is not up to a driver to enforce them if a driver is made aware of them he/she is to call control and they will alert the Gardai and or an Inspector.

However the problem is that if someone is up stairs for example acting the maggot the driver cannot actually see and identify the person it requires the passengers to stand up and identify the person responsible to the Gardai and unfortunately the vast majority are unwilling to do that.

What is clearly needed for the Luas and bus services is a dedicated Garda unit to police public transport in the city.

I'm not the one saying drivers should enforce all these regulations. It might have worked in days when there was a separate conductor on the bus, but it's not really practical now.

It was DubCommuter who brought that up - I just said I'd have no objection to it. But if DubCommuter is going to start talking about drivers rigidly sticking to the bye-laws he was quoting, he may as well quote them all and not be selective.

colblimp

For people to go on strike in the 'current climate', whatever the reason, is, quite frankly, nauseating. They should be grateful they have jobs!!!:mad::mad::mad:

Gumbo

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.

angel01 wrote: »

No I believe it was a normal service.

the 8am 140 didnt show up, the 8.10am 140 didnt show up, which meant there a was a huge que for the 8.20am 140 which thankfully did, but we were at the stop in the rain from 7.50am :mad:

i asked the driver as normal service back running, and he says yes it is, so i asked where are the buses from 8.00, 8.10 and tbh im nearly sure the 7.50 bus didnt turn up as there was a few there when i got to the stop, and the driver says, what do ya want me to do about it?
so i turned around and said "theres 400,000 people on the dole at the moment, if you wana go on strike im sure one of those will drive your bus so cop on!"

i wasnt rude, i didnt swear, this strike just annoyed me!

hopefully full service is back by the time im off work.

Cleopatra12

Des wrote: »

How convenient.

How convenient indeed.

Why am I not surprised.

He was probably in a meeting trying to sort out the 128 mess! Cant imagine he is sitting beside his phone waiting for people to complain to him..... Best bet is to contact the Depot Administration manager.

John Mason

i am still waiting for my call back from donal :rolleyes:

Cleopatra12

Pink, try the depot admin manager,better chance. His name is Tom. He is a relly nice man. Donal is sound too, but am sure you can understand that they are up to thier eyeballs with IR stuff at the mo.

John Mason

Cleopatra12 wrote: »

Pink, try the depot admin manager,better chance. His name is Tom. He is a relly nice man. Donal is sound too, but am sure you can understand that they are up to thier eyeballs with IR stuff at the mo.

i am up my eyes in work dealing with government changes and cut backs but still return every single phone call that day.

the fact that he is busy is not my problem, i am a customer and without people like me he has no job

Cleopatra12

pink fluffy bunny wrote: »

i am up my eyes in work dealing with government changes and cut backs but still return every single phone call that day.

the fact that he is busy is not my problem, i am a customer and without people like me he has no job

i was trying to be reasonable and offer you another solution... No need to bite my head off....

jochenstacker

I don't care if the bus drivers got the sniffles,stubbed a toe, been kicked out at home, aren't in the mood or didn't have enough milk in their cereal this morning.
They get paid to do a job and do it the way they're supposed to do it.
If I'm late, don't do what I'm supposed to do, do it wrong, at the wrong time, not in a manner consistent with company regulations, dress wrong, am rude, ignore the law, abuse people or just plain old don't turn up for work cause I can't be ar*ed, I'll be pulled over, disciplined and/or fired.
It's THAT simple!
Work, or get fired and if you don't like it, p*ss off!

meanmachine3

jochenstacker wrote: »

I don't care if the bus drivers got the sniffles,stubbed a toe, been kicked out at home, aren't in the mood or didn't have enough milk in their cereal this morning.
They get paid to do a job and do it the way they're supposed to do it.
If I'm late, don't do what I'm supposed to do, do it wrong, at the wrong time, not in a manner consistent with company regulations, dress wrong, am rude, ignore the law, abuse people or just plain old don't turn up for work cause I can't be ar*ed, I'll be pulled over, disciplined and/or fired.
It's THAT simple!
Work, or get fired and if you don't like it, p*ss off!

and whats this to do with this thread called "unoffical bus strike".i thought this discussion was all about what the thread title entails " unoffical bus strike"

rednik

Just reading through this thread it is easy to see what a DB driver has to put up with eveyday in work.

Red Sleeping Beauty

rednik wrote: »

Just reading through this thread it is easy to see what a DB driver has to put up with eveyday in work.

This is it. We've become so divorced from our fellow workers that it's easy to hurl abuse. Whether it's in person, in the pub or online....

jochenstacker

Taking the bus is great fun! Hours spent standing in the lashing rain, waiting for buses that turn up 3 at a time half an hour late.
Sitting on remnants of chewing gum besides people who might once have heard about deodorant, but decided it wasn't for them, trying to hold onto your shopping.
The bus routes are all radial, meaning if you want to go anywhere other than to or from the city center, you'd have to go to the city center first and if there isn't a bus lane you sit in traffic the same as the cars, only a lot more uncomfortable.
And even if there's a bus lane, some skanger will park their car in it to get themselves an ice cream (I'll only be a miiinaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!)
It's actually good, because taking the bus will definitely spur you on in you career, so you can afford to buy a car or move out the country (as I did), so you never have to ride on one of these infernal contraptions again.

Any man who rides a bus to work after the age of 30 can count himself a failure in life.
---attributed to Margaret Thatcher, former British PM

What will I do for public transport? I will improve the economy so you can find good enough work to be able to afford a car.
---George W Bush, US President, campaign speech

Stark

At least you don't have to look for parking when you get to the city centre though.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

jochenstacker

If you still have your mp3 player when you wake up!

sk8board

Heres a very interesting article on this wildcat strike, from yesterdays SBP.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=41481-qqqx=1.asp

Small group of drivers behind bus strike
Sunday, May 03, 2009 By Nicola Cooke
A core of around 100 bus drivers at the Harristown depot in north Dublin was behind last week’s bus strikes, which left tens of thousands of commuters without a service for almost three days.

The wildcat strike originated with the group, which calls itself the Bus Workers Action Group, last Sunday, but then spread to other depots. It was not supported by the drivers’ unions, and followed a recent ballot by drivers to accept a Labour Court proposal on new work practices.

The Sunday Business Post understands that some of the members of the group are affiliated to the Socialist Workers Party and have spoken at party events.

One of the group’s spokesmen, Eugene McDonagh, is also a member of the executive of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), and has been asked to step aside from his position while the origin of the strike is investigated. Several attempts were made to contact McDonagh about the strike, but he refused to comment.

It had been widely reported that the action came as a result of drivers walking off their jobs in support of a colleague, who was suspended after he refused to operate a revised route. However, sources said a concerted campaign not to operate the revised routes had been launched before their introduction.

One told The Sunday Business Post that the driver ‘‘was targeted’’ as soon as his name appeared on a roster to drive a slightly altered 128 route. The 128 route, from Clongriffin to Rathmines, was being reduced from a 75-minute to a 70-minute route because of an increase in bus priority lanes, and one bus was to be removed from the route.

‘‘He was intimidated and told there was no way he could drive that route, by a group of drivers who have resisted any changes to work practices, overtime or routes,” the source said.

‘‘The driver was hung out to dry, in a way, and it was made to look like his colleagues went out in support of him. That was part of the plan.”

The action spread to the Clontarf depot last Monday, and pickets were placed on the city’s seven depots by the following morning. One driver at the Phibsboro depot said his bus was stoned by some picketers as it tried to leave, while others claimed they were intimidated. The dispute was resolved when the suspension of the initial driver who refused to operate the 128 route on Sunday was lifted.

Dublin Bus announced a fleet reduction of 120 buses and 290 job cuts last January, in a bid to save €31 million. Since then, the NBRU and Siptu have twice threatened strikes if these cuts were imposed without consultation.

The issue has been before the Labour Court on several occasions, and a clarification document that proposed to achieve cost savings was agreed in a ballot less than two weeks ago.

The first tranche of changes to routes was introduced last Sunday, and the rest will be introduced next Sunday. The Labour Court agreement also stated that ‘‘changes should be implemented even if agreement cannot be reached by that date, and any areas of disagreement dealt with after implementation’’.

The Labour Court agreement - which included realignment of some routes, a change in frequency in others and the withdrawal of some low frequency routes - was passed by a 58 per cent majority of the company’s 2,860 drivers.

Other measures included voluntary redundancies for 80 senior drivers and four-day contracts for 80 more drivers. Cliona Ní Fhatharta, spokeswoman for Dublin Bus, said the vast majority of drivers were willing to operate their routes last week, ‘‘but there was intimidation and we are investigating this’’.

‘‘This may involve a disciplinary process, but that is an internal matter,” Ní Fhatharta said.

‘‘We have been losing €500,000 a week and have responsibility as a company to manage our finances and bring in restructuring to do this.

‘‘We have consulted drivers about this, and gone through the state’s industrial relations mechanism. A quarter of all routes are affected, and drivers’ unions voted to accept these changes. No one wanted a situation where customers are disrupted.”

shltter

sk8board wrote: »

Heres a very interesting article on this wildcat strike, from yesterdays SBP.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=41481-qqqx=1.asp

Small group of drivers behind bus strike
Sunday, May 03, 2009 By Nicola Cooke
A core of around 100 bus drivers at the Harristown depot in north Dublin was behind last week’s bus strikes, which left tens of thousands of commuters without a service for almost three days.

The wildcat strike originated with the group, which calls itself the Bus Workers Action Group, last Sunday, but then spread to other depots. It was not supported by the drivers’ unions, and followed a recent ballot by drivers to accept a Labour Court proposal on new work practices.

The Sunday Business Post understands that some of the members of the group are affiliated to the Socialist Workers Party and have spoken at party events.

One of the group’s spokesmen, Eugene McDonagh, is also a member of the executive of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), and has been asked to step aside from his position while the origin of the strike is investigated. Several attempts were made to contact McDonagh about the strike, but he refused to comment.

It had been widely reported that the action came as a result of drivers walking off their jobs in support of a colleague, who was suspended after he refused to operate a revised route. However, sources said a concerted campaign not to operate the revised routes had been launched before their introduction.

One told The Sunday Business Post that the driver ‘‘was targeted’’ as soon as his name appeared on a roster to drive a slightly altered 128 route. The 128 route, from Clongriffin to Rathmines, was being reduced from a 75-minute to a 70-minute route because of an increase in bus priority lanes, and one bus was to be removed from the route.

‘‘He was intimidated and told there was no way he could drive that route, by a group of drivers who have resisted any changes to work practices, overtime or routes,” the source said.

‘‘The driver was hung out to dry, in a way, and it was made to look like his colleagues went out in support of him. That was part of the plan.”

The action spread to the Clontarf depot last Monday, and pickets were placed on the city’s seven depots by the following morning. One driver at the Phibsboro depot said his bus was stoned by some picketers as it tried to leave, while others claimed they were intimidated. The dispute was resolved when the suspension of the initial driver who refused to operate the 128 route on Sunday was lifted.

Dublin Bus announced a fleet reduction of 120 buses and 290 job cuts last January, in a bid to save €31 million. Since then, the NBRU and Siptu have twice threatened strikes if these cuts were imposed without consultation.

The issue has been before the Labour Court on several occasions, and a clarification document that proposed to achieve cost savings was agreed in a ballot less than two weeks ago.

The first tranche of changes to routes was introduced last Sunday, and the rest will be introduced next Sunday. The Labour Court agreement also stated that ‘‘changes should be implemented even if agreement cannot be reached by that date, and any areas of disagreement dealt with after implementation’’.

The Labour Court agreement - which included realignment of some routes, a change in frequency in others and the withdrawal of some low frequency routes - was passed by a 58 per cent majority of the company’s 2,860 drivers.

Other measures included voluntary redundancies for 80 senior drivers and four-day contracts for 80 more drivers. Cliona Ní Fhatharta, spokeswoman for Dublin Bus, said the vast majority of drivers were willing to operate their routes last week, ‘‘but there was intimidation and we are investigating this’’.

‘‘This may involve a disciplinary process, but that is an internal matter,” Ní Fhatharta said.

‘‘We have been losing €500,000 a week and have responsibility as a company to manage our finances and bring in restructuring to do this.

‘‘We have consulted drivers about this, and gone through the state’s industrial relations mechanism. A quarter of all routes are affected, and drivers’ unions voted to accept these changes. No one wanted a situation where customers are disrupted.”

Spin spin spin

Lies and half truths

As I said last week there is more than meets the eye its internal union politics as well.

NBRU ********* was slagging off his own members in Harristown last week did his best to undermine them by spreading lies along with the company about the issues and the behaviour of the drivers from harristown.
Anyone that opposes them is labeled Bus workers action group and accused of being in the SWP laughable I doubt the SWP has a 100 members never mind the BWAG.

ahmed.baher

So, we have the unions, the management, the drivers (who are split themselves) and the government.
Every group is only after their own little slice with the aim of getting a bigger slice.
What happens to the other group is not important and the passengers don't even enter into this picture.
All you get is lies, spin, halftruths, propaganda and smear from either side.
Instead of working together for the greater good
(bahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
everyone is engaged in a tug of war with everyone else.
This will only result in a company that's badly run, constantly at war with each other, barely functioning and unreliable.
In the private sector, companies like that don't last long, but since this is state run, it could limp on for years to come.
Once again, the only loser is the passenger.
Who is to blame in all this?
The drivers? The management? The unions? A few hotheads and troublemakers?
The history of industrial unrest and the( in this case very fitting) comparison to the British car industry in the 70's usually tells us this:
They all are.

andy jackson

woodseb wrote: »

i've been using buses for years and you know what? i've never been consulted on any timetable changes either but then i'm just a customer and should realise that the company is run for and by the drivers

the drivers NEVER get consulted either , trust me .........

andy jackson

googlehead wrote: »

great post,

bunch of unskilled over paid scumbags. greedy F*cking wa*kers. get the army in to drive the buses. life is not fair it really isn't.


i was told last september that i had to take a pay cut to stay in work. a big pay cut at that, nearly a 3rd of my wages. and i did it because i didn't have a choice. until i was told no more work in november. this stuff is laughable

with an attitude like that , im actually glad you had to take a pay cut

who`s the scumbag now ? anker ? sorry , did i miss a letter ?????????

fh041205

Draggin up 4 month old posts just to hurl insults screams desperation to me Andy J. Googleheads point still stands. Dublin Bus drivers acted in an inappropriate way in this fiasco and inconvienced a significant amount of people. If you expect people to have sympathy for them after that then you're dreaming.