All 1,200 Aer Lingus cabin crew in the Republic of Ireland are to be sent notices of termination of their employment next month and offered new contracts involving lower salary scales and changed work practices.
Following the implementation of new work practices, which will reduce its requirement for the current staffing levels, the company will cut its cabin crew workforce by around 230.
The personnel concerned are to be let go on a compulsory basis, and offered statutory redundancy terms of two weeks per year of service.
The company said the process to select the staff to be let go was continuing.
The move follows the rejection by cabin crew of the terms of a controversial €97 million cost-saving deal which involved over 600 voluntary redundancies, pay cuts and work practice changes.
More than 440 Aer Lingus staff in other grades who accepted the terms of the deal are to leave under a voluntary redundancy scheme. They will receive a severance package of six weeks per year of service.
The airline is also to abolish the grade of cabin manager in its aircraft as part of a de-layering of management structures. The 64 existing cabin managers will be offered new contracts on revised terms.
Last night the trade union Impact, which represents cabin crew, said the measures planned by the airline were “brutal, targeted and unfair”.
The union called on the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to reconvene the parties to find a mutual solution. However, last night the company rejected this proposal, and said it had spent several months at the LRC and had reached an agreement which was comprehensively turned down.
A spokesman said the company had no mandate from its board for further talks.
Impact said that despite statements by the CEO of the airline “the measures that have been announced look very much like a form of retribution against cabin crew for voting against the proposals”.
“The announcement today that the company will seek to make the entire cabin crew redundant and rehire roughly 75 per cent of the workers on new contracts is viewed by the union as particularly brutal treatment.”
Impact said cabin crew workers had proved themselves, over successive cost-saving programmes since 2001, to be a loyal and understanding group of workers, but the company’s new proposals would very likely bring that loyalty to an end.
The union is to hold briefing meetings with members in Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports today and tomorrow .
In a statement yesterday, Aer Lingus said: “The cabin crew representatives were informed of the following applicable measures:
* Targeted compulsory redundancies at statutory minimum levels, including the de-layering of the cabin crew organisation;
* New working conditions to achieve increased productivity;
* Transition to new pay scale, including reduced salaries;
* Reduction in variable pay;
* Implementation of new Aer Lingus principles of employment.
“Assuming the full implementation of all of the above measures, it is expected there will be approximately 230 less cabin crew in the organisation, and all remaining cabin crew employees will be on new contracts of employment.”
Meanwhile, sources suggested last night that a number of cabin crew based in Cork had written to the company last night seeking inclusion in the original cost-saving deal put forward by Aer Lingus.
Impact said it was aware of correspondence by two individuals, but did not know the content.