Talks between the management of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus and representatives from SIPTU and the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) held at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) broke down this afternoon, resulting in the increased likelihood of a strike by employees at midnight tonight.
The strike, which is due to take place over tomorrow and Saturday, is likely to cause major disruption to Bank holiday travellers and those travelling home from Dublin over the weekend.
The drivers of both companies have planned a series of strikes over the privatisation of routes later this year.
Arriving at the LRC this afternoon, Siptu Divisional Organiser Owen Reidy had said his union was attending more in hope than expectation.
He said that if they could not make progress on SIPTU's six-point plan the strike would go ahead.
The NBRU General Secretary Dermot O'Leary was also in attendance at the meeting.
The chief executive of Bus Éireann, Martin Nolan, said yesterday that failure to broker a deal will have "dire financial consequences" for the company and spark widespread public anger.
He also repeated his earlier statement that no staff will be forced to transfer to private sector operators when 10% of bus routes are put out to private tender.
The strike will affect all Bus Éireann routes, including local services, but not its school transport buses which are separate and operated mostly by contractors.
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