Union to press Government over €400m Aer Lingus investment
Union leaders tonight vowed to continue to press the Government to invest €400m of Exchequer funds in Aer Lingus to stave off privatisation.
As SIPTU and management clashed over the future of the airline, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen told union bosses he would examine whether a state holding company could be set up to protect the business.
“What we have now is an opportunity for some engagement which we did not have before,” said Mick Halpenny, SIPTU national industrial secretary.
“He [the minister] has agreed to go back to Government on two issues - government involvement in the airline and the state holding company proposal put forward by ICTU.”
Mr Halpenny said financial experts had told SIPTU selling off some of the airline may end up raising as little as €400m. But a spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said the decision to part-privatise a chunk of Aer Lingus still stood.
Mr Halpenny suggested that with the Government setting aside 34.4 billion euro for its ambitious Transport 21 plan, it should be able to find 400m euro for the national airline.
Aer Lingus staff are also worried the company has pressed ahead with its business plan without consultation, giving rise to fears among staff about the future of the airline.
They say the plan does not address key concerns like the huge €250m pension deficit or the issue of permanent jobs in the future for the 3,600 existing employees and the 8,000 retired employees.
Crucial to the airline’s business plan is raising capital to expand and the Government believes part privatisation is the best way to do that.
But ministers will now look again to see if funds are available to help the company.
SIPTU will call general meetings of its members in Aer Lingus for next week with staff being balloted for industrial action if necessary to protect members’ pay, conditions and pensions, in the event of privatisation.
In a statement SIPTU said: “Many members also expressed concern over public interest aspects of the proposed privatisation in the light of other privatisations such as eircom and B&I, which eventually became part of Irish Ferries.”
