There will be thousands of Aer Lingus passengers affected by the chaos caused by a strike which Siptu shop stewards pushed for yesterday.
The trade union vowed to hold a two-hour work stoppage on Monday at Dublin Airport in an ongoing row about the pension pot at Aer Lingus.
The strike will affect anyone flying with the carrier, mostly to transatlantic destinations, between 10am and noon. No other airlines will be affected.
It had been hoped the strike would be called off after a plan to resolve the row was proposed by employers' group Ibec and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions at the weekend.
But Siptu organiser Dermot O'Loughlin said despite holding a 'constructive' meeting with management, the union was still not in a position to withdraw the notice of strike action.
Union representatives at Aer Lingus met at lunchtime yesterday, after which shop stewards refused to withdraw their strike notice, in a row over the company's (EURO)748million pension deficit. Aer Lingus agreed to re-enter talks on a 'voluntary, non-binding' basis. But Siptu said that the wording of the statement from Aer Lingus on returning to the talks indicates the company wants concessions over productivity measures in exchange for plugging the pensions deficit.
Mr O'Loughlin claimed that these demands by the airline were unacceptable to workers.
On Friday, a joint five-point plan by Ibec and Ictu to try to resolve the dispute was welcomed by Aer Lingus, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar and the Impact trade union.
The Ibec/Ictu plan would see further engagement by the Labour Relations Commission followed by a referral of 'outstanding matters' to the Labour Court for 'interim recommendation'.
A key element of the plan was that the trade unions would withdraw strike notice.
A further issue of concern is the continued insistence by Aer Lingus that it will not fund the future pensions of employees at the level demanded by the trade unions. Talks at the Labour Relations Commission on the dispute broke down a fortnight ago and unions served notice of industrial action for Monday next. Aer Lingus has said if the (EURO)748million deficit in its pension pot is not addressed, members who have not yet retired could receive as little as 4 per cent of the pensions they expected.
Siptu called off a threatened strike at Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority over a week ago to allow talks on the deficit in their joint pension scheme known as the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme to continue. Unions claimed Aer Lingus would have to contribute up to (EURO)200m, and the DAA would have to pay out (EURO)130million to resolve the deficit. In a statement, Mr Varadkar said the strike action was 'regrettable'. 'It will inconvenience thousands of tourists, travellers and business people and will damage the financial position both of Aer Lingus and the airports, which is of no benefit to anyone working in aviation in the long term,' he said. 'Strike action should never be inevitable and both sides should start talking again.' In a statement last night, Aer Lingus defended its position, saying its primary focus was their customers.
'The requirement for employment cost stabilisation measures has been consistently stated by Aer Lingus in all of its statements,' a spokesman said.
'Aer Lingus find it most regrettable that Siptu has taken this decision to use Aer Lingus customers as leverage in a dispute, for which a way forward is clearly available.' Meanwhile, Aer Lingus shares plummeted by 4 per cent yesterday to (EURO)1.04, as the clock began ticking on the work stoppage in a week's time.
Comment - Page 12 [email protected] TWO HOURS OF DISRUPTION CABIN crew, ground and administrative staff plan to down tools for two hours at Dublin Airport in a move that will cause disruption for thousands of passengers caught up in the pension row.
It is understood outbound transatlantic flights will bear the brunt of the disruption should the strike go ahead between 10am and noon next Monday. Flights to London, in early afternoon, as well as to Budapest and New York later could be hit by delays also.
Last night an Aer Lingus spokesman, who accused the trade unions of using Aer Lingus customers as leverage in a dispute, said the airline's primary focus in the coming days was their customers.
She said it is in the process of activating a disruptions handling plan.
However, Siptu organiser Dermot O'Loughlin held out some hope of passengers being spared.
He told Six One News last night: 'Some form of understanding may be reached in the next 24 hours.'
'Siptu is using customers'
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