SIPTU agrees to talks with Aer Lingus
Union leaders agreed today to enter talks with Aer Lingus management as efforts intensified to resolve a row over planned cost-cutting.
The airline had warned that staff who refused to abide by the scheme would be suspended without pay prompting threats from SIPTU of a long and bitter dispute.
But following a request from Aer Lingus chiefs, Ireland’s largest trade union has accepted an invitation to talks which both sides privately insist are the last chance for a deal.
“The union would prefer to conduct negotiations under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, as was agreed by all the parties, but it has accepted the invitation in order to seek a solution to what could otherwise be a long and bitter dispute,” a SIPTU spokesman said.
Aer Lingus is trying to implement a €20m cost-cutting plan including new rosters with shifts of varying lengths and flexible work practices.
But the union warned a ballot for industrial action will continue and contingency measures will be put in place if the company pushes ahead with plans to suspend employees without pay from Monday.
If the talks fail the Irish air industry could be thrown into chaos with thousands of passengers stranded.
And it will also offer a sign of worse disruption to come with the country’s air traffic controllers planning a one-day stoppage on Thursday in a row over working hours.
Tens of thousands of passengers flying in and out of Ireland will be affected while trans-Atlantic flights using Irish airspace will also be disrupted if it goes ahead.
SIPTU said it was determined to enter talks focussed on a resolution.
“The union has made it clear to the company that it wishes to engage in substantive negotiations, not another exercise in media optics, designed to put the company in the best possible light,” the spokesman said.
SIPTU also said workers have already agreed to major changes in work practices.
Around 1,800 workers are facing a work ban without pay from Monday if they fail to cooperate with the new working arrangements. The airline has insisted the changes will roll out without union consent.
SIPTU has warned strike action cannot be ruled out.
