Both sides in the Dublin bus dispute will attend talks today in a bid to resolve the row over pay.

The unions say postponing industrial action will only be considered, if the company is willing to engage in meaningful discussions.

Six days of strike action have already taken place – further stoppages are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday as well as eleven more days in October.

Dermot O’Leary from the NBRU union says today’s talks at the Workplace Relations Commission will not be easy: “It won’t be easy, it will be very difficult, we understand that, getting into the WRC is the first step of the process, it is not the end all and be all.

“You have to have some kind of table before members can consider it, but look, we are going in with a positive frame of mind, we always do and the NBRU and other unions are the same.

“And we expect the company to come in that spirit so we can get an agreement.”