The sacking of shop steward Eugene McDonagh by Dublin Bus management and the simultaneous suspension of him by his union, the NBRU, from the executive to which he was democratically elected represents a joint management/union bureaucracy drive to destroy effective representation for bus workers in Harristown garage.
It comes on the back of a campaign of harassment and disciplinary action against a number of union activists in the garage by the company. This action has been followed up by the stripping from three democratically elected shop stewards in the garage, their facility for carrying out their union duties.
The legalistic excuses of the NBRU leadership to justify their collaboration with the employers do not wash. Facing a further round of cost cutting, it appears the company and the union leadership want to remove potential active oppostion from among the workforce.
Evidently the leadership of NBRU like Dublin Bus management would like a quiet life regardless of the future impact on jobs, pay and conditions in Dublin Bus. I call for the immediate re-reinstatement of Eugene McDonagh to his job and to the NBRU executive and the reinstatement of shop steward facilities in Harristown that have been taken away from Rory Colman, Owen McCormack and Colm Brady.
I support the campaign by ordinary NBRU members to support their victimised colleagues and by rank and file members of the NBRU to democratically take ownership over the direction the union.
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