SOME bus services have been suspended in Belfast tonight after a bus was hijacked and set on fire by loyalists last night.
Earlier Translink drivers, supported by Unite the Union, staged a spontaneous walkout and held a protest at City Hall on Monday following a spate of bus attacks.
On Sunday night, four masked men hijacked a Metro bus in Rathcoole before setting it on fire. The men, some armed with claw hammers, smashed windows on the bus and ordered the driver and passengers off.
It comes amidst growing loyalist tension over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Meanwhile in West Belfast, a driver was injured after a youth pressed the emergency stop button on a Glider vehicle, bringing it to a sharp and abrupt halt. It happened during unrest in the Stewartstown Road area, where youths attacked police and the Fire Service as they responded to reports of a fire.
Michael Dornan, chair of the Metro bus drivers’ branch at Unite the Union, said the ongoing attacks pointed to "political failure" on both sides of the community.
"We're being used as political punch bags, and we're saying enough is enough," he told the Andersonstown News
"If we haven't got safe passage – wherever it is that our safety and welfare is being threatened – then we won't service that route."
He said drivers had seen an increase in attacks over the past two years, but described last night's attack in Rathcoole as "more sinister".
"The driver suffered a horrific situation where a claw hammer was used to wreck the security screen and it went it all over him," he said.
Mr Dornan said the driver had to attend hospital and was "badly shaken" by the incident, which has made many workers consider if their jobs are "worth it".
He said recent incidents on the Glider had seen drivers and Customer and Revenue Protection Officers "abused, spat at and punched".
"We have met with every single community and political face in West Belfast – we've talked to them all, but it's still ongoing and there doesn't seem to be any end to it.
"We've drivers now who don't want to be bus drivers. We've been through a pandemic, which is life threatening enough because you could catch it or bring it home to your loved ones'. Now we have this life threatening gauntlet that we're being asked to go through because of political unrest on both sides of the community."
At the time of writing, Unite is set to meet management at Translink to discuss workers' safety concerns.
"We're not going to tolerate it anymore and we're taking ourselves out of the equation where there is danger," Mr Dornan added.
