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Air Strike called off
AIR travellers heaved a sigh of relief this week as a strike which could have
thrown flights between Britain and Ireland into chaos was called off.
Aer Lingus workers suspended industrial action which would have affected
the travel plans of up to 30,000 airline passengers.
The move came after a last-ditch meeting of union officials at Dublin
Airport over the weekend.
Instead they decided to call off the strike for at least two weeks.
It followed eight hours of discussions at Government Buildings between
management and officials representing 1,800 workers.
Relationships had soured between both sides over the past week arising
out of a dispute over a ?20million cost-cutting plan by management.
But the breakthrough came when management and union officials agreed to
talks chaired by officials from Ireland’s industrial relations troubleshooter
the National Implementation Body (NIB).
Both sides will now meet again with NIB officials on November 28 to assess
the way forward.
Union SIPTU had served strike notice on Aer Lingus and threatened four-hour
rolling work stoppages on Tuesday and Friday of this week.
The move could have led to the cancellation of scores of flights and hit
thousands of air passengers travelling between Britain and Ireland.
But the union’s Michael Halpenny said SIPTU agreed to suspend
the strike action planned for November 20 and 23 pending the outcome of
the NIB talks.
He said officials were seeking an alternative solution to the cost-cutting
plan which did not affect workers’ pay.
A special union meeting of workers at the former State airline will be
held before December 4 to consider the talks process.
It is the latest dispute to hit Aer Lingus over its plans to curtail costs.
Last month the airline brought in a pay freeze for staff until its cost-cutting
plan was entirely in place.
The airline has argued it is operating in a highly competitive and volatile
environment and needs to respond successfully to the changing marketplace.
But union anger increased when it emerged Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot
Mannion and senior executives had been awarded up to ?4million worth of
free shares under the company’s management incentive scheme.
Aer Lingus only recently narrowly averted a planned strike by airline
pilots over its plans to open a new hub at Belfast airport.
And the airline is still embroiled in controversy following its decision
to axe the popular London Heathrow to Shannon route — a plan which
has drawn strong criticism from business leaders, tourism chiefs and passengers. |
