Aer Lingus unions seek nine weeks per year

Unions at Aer Lingus are set to seek one of the highest voluntary redundancy packages ever negotiated in the State.

During a meeting with management at Dublin Airport yesterday unions, including Impact and SIPTU, said their demand in restructuring talks would be nine weeks of pay for each year of service. They also emphasised that change could only come about by agreement. The airline is seeking 1,325 jobs cuts as part of a radical three-year business plan.

According to sources, the four-person management were surprised by the demand and declined to respond. So far, chief executive, Mr Willie Walsh, has refused to be drawn on the details of any potential redundancy settlement.

Mr Michael Landers, assistant general secretary at the trade union Impact, told The Irish Times, Aer Lingus was not an airline in crisis and could afford to pay redundancy payments "at the top end of the range".

Mr Michael Halpenny, national industrial secretary at SIPTU, said his union was already balloting for potential industrial action and the results would be counted on August 16/17th.

He said the unions wanted to discuss a process with management for handling the issue of redundancies, but he warned that future pay and conditions for workers were also relevant.

The airline is likely to resist the union's demand for nine weeks of pay for every year worked. The airline offered four weeks of pay per year of service (up to a maximum of two years) in the last major restructuring agreed in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

Under that agreement, the airline was forced to pay out €80 million for 2,000 job cuts. The settlement this time could also be high, although the relatively low levels of service among current staff should reduce the final bill.

Mr Landers said the meeting with management was "robust" with several frank exchanges. He said the chances of the airline getting 1,325 redundancies were slim.

"I would be amazed if that number of people came forward. You have to remember that anyone who wanted to leave left the company the last time there was a package on the table."

He said the company's current redundancy package of four weeks' pay for every year of service, plus a €1,000 lump sum, would "not cut the mustard".

The management team was led by Mr Walsh. Also present was chief financial officer, Mr Brian Dunne, chief operations officer, Mr Séamus Kearney and human resources director Mr Liz White.

Cuts at the airline are due to begin as soon as January 2005. The airline wants numbers in flight operations to fall from 440 to 370 by 2007; it wants flight services numbers to fall from 1,024 to 770 by 2007.

The catering operation is expected to be hit the hardest with numbers falling from 249 to nine.