Dundee bus drivers are being worked to breaking point because of a shortage of staff, a union leader has claimed.
National Express Dundee is aware of the concerns but said it has recruited and continues to recruit drivers.
Doug McGuire, regional officer of Unite, accused the company of putting up a smokescreen over their previous statement that a recent high unavailability of drivers was a temporary difficulty.
He was also unhappy at the company’s insistence its services were not compromised by the demands of ferrying officials and competitors to the Commonwealth Games shooting events at Barry Buddon.
“These comments made our members very angry,” he said. “The company has a serious shortage of drivers and has had for a long time.
“That was why there were problems at Christmas and that is why there are still problems now with buses not running.
“The situation is so bad that drivers have not been able to take holidays they are due from 2013.”
The company explained a problem last Monday when Ninewells Hospital passengers were left standing was due to an unusually high unavailability of drivers caused by illness and a difficulty in covering overtime shifts.
The union official alleged this was a smokescreen concealing a deeper problem, and cast doubt on the company’s claim that drivers came from Birmingham to cover the Commonwealth Games contract.
“I don’t believe it when they say the Dundee services are not being affected by the games.
“Today I understand 14 buses were needed for Barry Buddon and the company would have had to use Dundee buses and drivers to service that contract.”
A spokeswoman for the company said: “We are aware of these concerns, previously raised by Unite the union, and since the beginning of this year we have trained and recruited 30 new drivers who are now currently on the roads.
“Our operations team is continually in the process of interviewing, training and testing new members of staff in order to continue to boost the number of drivers in our workforce.
“Any current difficulty in filling overtime shifts is due to a higher than expected level of illness among employees and is in no way linked to the Commonwealth Games transportation in which we are currently involved.
“A robust plan was put in place several weeks ago, which included drafting in both drivers and vehicles from our sister operation in the West Midlands to assist in fulfilling this contract.”
She added: “Drivers are at liberty to accept or refuse overtime duties as they wish, and we acknowledge and appreciate those who regularly take on extra work.”