Unions at Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann have warned that the National Transport Authority decision to open 10% of its routes to tender will trigger a "race to the bottom" in pay and conditions for workers similar to that seen in the Greyhound Waste dispute.
The claims were made as unions and management at the two companies met at the Labour Relations Commission for exploratory talks on the implications of the decision.
NTA Chief Executive Gerry Murphy said the two companies will be allowed to bid for the routes and the market would determine the right price for services.
He said the two companies would have to compete on cost.
Under the NTA proposal, potential entrants will engage in pre-qualification for tendering by December.
Successful applicants could be operating the routes by mid 2016.
Arriving for the talks, General Secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union Dermot O'Leary said unions were vehemently opposed to the proposal.
He said it could trigger the kind of situation seen recently in the Greyhound Waste dispute competition where workers faced a pay cut of 35%.
Mr O'Leary said unions wanted the NTA to understand that its decision was based on a "flawed ideology", which was not going to work for customers, staff, Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus.
He said the companies would be left with a residue of staff if the routes went to the private sector, which could cost them millions.
SIPTU Divisional Organiser Owen Reidy noted that both State companies had cut their costs significantly and had met their targets.
He said fragmenting an integrated public transport system would not be good for the customer, the taxpayer or the workers.
Mr Reidy voiced concern as to whether private operators would take on responsibility for State schemes, such as travel for pensioners.
Jim Kavanagh of the Transport and Salaried Staff Association also voiced concern about what would happen if a private operator went bust.
Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann management declined to comment.
It is unclear if further talks will take place after today's meeting.
Meanwhile, the body representing private bus operators has rejected claims that privatising 10% of bus routes would lead to a race to the bottom in employees' pay and conditions.
The Director of the Private Association of Motor Bus Owners (PAMBO) Mike Goodliffe said that private operators were already operating many routes around the country, but that had not ended up in a race to the bottom.
He acknowledged that private operators could not viably operate if they had to carry the overheads of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus, including the payment of pension contributions for employees.
However, Mr Goodliffe noted that the State bus companies could afford higher pay and conditions because they also received subvention.
He criticised the fact that private operators were not being represented at the talks.
PAMBO says it represents 2,300 operators, 1,600 of which provide school services, and the sector employs between 6,000 and 7,000 workers.
