TALKS WILL get under way today aimed at resolving the dispute at Aer Lingus. However, in the meantime passengers can expect continued disruption to some services, with more than a dozen flights likely to be cancelled.
The new talks follow a joint intervention yesterday by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) and the employers’ body Ibec.
A meeting between Aer Lingus management and a senior official of Impact, the union representing cabin crew at the airline, could be followed by an engagement between the parties at the Labour Relations Commission tomorrow.
Any involvement at the Labour Relations Commission is initially likely to be a conciliation process. However, the chief executive of the commission, Kieran Mulvey, who was involved in an arbitration process over cabin crew rosters last year, could be asked to clarify some issues.
Since Monday of last week about 215 members of cabin crew at Aer Lingus have been taken off the payroll for refusing to operate new rosters which were introduced unilaterally by the company.
Several thousand passengers have been affected by the cancellation of dozens of flights over recent days.
Yesterday the airline cancelled 18 flights.
Aer Lingus has said the new rosters were essential in achieving an increase in flying hours for cabin crew agreed as part of an overall cost-saving plan at the airline known as Greenfield.
Cabin crew have said that while they have agreed to the additional flying hours, the rosters put in place are too onerous and are not family-friendly.
Yesterday afternoon, following several days of contact behind the scenes, the Ictu general secretary David Begg and Ibec’s director of industrial relations Brendan McGinty issued a joint statement inviting the parties to a meeting “with a view to seeing if any assistance can be offered towards finding a resolution”.
Both Mr Begg and Mr McGinty, along with senior representatives in the Department of the Taoiseach, in the past were key members of the former National Implementation Body. This body played a major role in dealing with disputes during the era of social partnership but has not been active since its collapse.
The statement said: “Both the Ictu and Ibec have considered the current dispute between the Impact trade union on behalf of its cabin crew members and Aer Lingus arising from the rosters introduced to enable delivery of the 850 block hours per annum as agreed under the Greenfield business recovery plan in 2010.
“In view of the serious nature of the dispute, Ictu and Ibec have invited the national secretary of Impact and the chief HR officer of the company to brief them on the issue with a view to seeing if any assistance can be offered towards finding a resolution.”
Impact, which has been pressing for new talks in the row for several days, welcomed the intervention in the dispute. It said it was ready to engage in the process as soon as it could be convened.
Aer Lingus, which has up to now been opposed to new talks, did not specifically welcome the development. However, it stated that it would attend the meeting today.
“Aer Lingus has confirmed that it has accepted the invitation of Ibec and Ictu to attend a meeting, on Friday, January 28th, in relation to the current dispute with Impact-represented cabin crew members. The company remains committed to the implementation of the Greenfield restructuring programme.”
Minister for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary last night also welcomed the intervention aimed at resolving the dispute.
He said he would encourage both sides to work with Ictu and Ibec to find a way forward.
The Minister reiterated that the industrial relations machinery of the State remained available to assist both parties.