Aer Lingus begins pay talks with pilots

Aer Lingus’s first meeting with pilots at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in a bid to resolve a pay row yielded no result on Thursday.

The carrier referred the dispute to the commission after members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), part of trade union Fórsa, voted to reject an 8.5 per cent pay increase offer.

Neither side commented after an initial meeting that lasted most of Thursday, but they are due back at the commission early next week.

Pilots say the 8.5 per cent offer took no account of their efforts to aid the airline through the pandemic or the subsequent surge in the cost of living.

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Aer Lingus maintains the offer took account of extra summer leave entitlements given to pilots in a 2019 deal, while the airline says it safeguarded their jobs in the face of tough Covid travel curbs.

The pay offer resulted from deliberations by an internal company tribunal, part of the airline’s agreed procedures with its unions.

The WRC is part of the State’s industrial relations system, meant to aid sides in resolving industrial relations problems.