Bus drivers poised to take strike action

This afternoon bus drivers across Northern Ireland were poised to take strike action on Friday over a pay dispute.

The strike, which will involve both City and Ulsterbus services, is expected to affect around 180,000 passengers as well as thousands of school children.

Union representatives have rejected a 4.7% pay increase offered by Translink as inadequate, claiming that current wage levels are 17% below the average manual worker's wage at present.

"We would need a 4% increase above inflation for the next five years to bring us near the average manual worker's wage," a spokesperson said.

However, on Thursday afternoon Translink were seeking a last minute High Court injunction to prevent the industrial action from going ahead.

Strike action on Friday is expected to cause havoc on Northern Ireland's roads.

NIO Minister John Spellar confirmed that an agreement had been reached with the PSNI to suspend bus lane restrictions in the event that the strike takes place.

He also encouraged people to consider ways of reducing the expected upturn in traffic to manageable levels.

“I would urge those who drive to work by car to consider car sharing as an option and hope that parents of children who require transport to and from school could reach an arrangement with other parents to share the task as a further way of reducing traffic," the Minister said.

If an agreement isn't reached unions have confirmed that tomorrow's strike is the first in a series of stoppages, with the others taking place on the 24 and 31 October and 7 and 10 November.

(MB)