The 1935 Dublin Tram and Bus Strike

The following day the streets of Dublin, “presented a deserted appearance. Taxi-cabs were in great demand and the jaunting car was brought back into full use”. While strike action was initially taken in support of a sacked bus driver, there were long standing and unresolved issues relating to pay and working conditions in the Dublin United Tramway Company, which had a monopoly on the provision of bus and tram services in the city. During the first week of the strike 3,000 workers marched from Liberty Hall to the Olympia Theatre headed by the Tramway Workers’ Band, where a mass meeting heard William Scott, President of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, declare it, “a glorious thing that trade unionism in Dublin had reached such a pitch that 3,000 workers came out on strike for the rights of one.” The Vice President of ITGWU, Thomas Kennedy criticised the private monopoly of public transport services and said that the tram and bus services should be a State or Municipal undertaking. <a href="https://medium.com/@stewreddin/the-1935-dublin-tram-and-bus-strike-6f79ba35c62f">Website</a>