The Labour Court recommended a revised two-year pay deal for Bus Eireann and 3,200 workers represented by the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), SIPTU, Unite the Union, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) and Connect. The recommendation was signed on 6 June 2025.
It provides for a 3.5% pay increase and a €500 voucher from 1 January 2025, followed by a 3.25% increase from 1 January 2026. The Court also recommended reducing the driver pay scale from seven years to six, increasing meal and subsistence rates by 15%, and raising the night allowance to €20. A joint working group would review annual leave, bereavement leave and benefits.
The unions sought pay parity with Dublin Bus, which they valued at 12.7%. Bus Eireann said its offer was the limit of what it could afford, after reporting a €4.2 million loss in 2024 and projecting a similar loss for 2025. The workers had rejected an earlier WRC proposal by 64% to 36%.