Aer Lingus unions insist on their stake

Unions at Aer Lingus want 14.9 per cent of the company transferred into their ownership before there is any co-operation on the airline's new business plan, which involves 1,325 job losses.

The airline's largest union, SIPTU, last night said chief executive Mr Willie Walsh must immediately sign off on an agreement to transfer the shares to the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT).

SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Michael Halpenny,said the shares belonged to staff following an agreement drawn up during the last restructuring at the company following the September 11th attacks.

"We will be insisting on the honouring of outstanding obligations arising from previous rationlisation agreements before any plans of any kind are implemented," he said.

Mr Walsh has argued that the last rationalisation plan has not been fully delivered and, until then, the shares cannot be formally transferred. He recently said the Labour Court was still adjudicating on some of the issues. At a meeting yesterday, unions at the airline were presented with a broad outline of the business plan.

When it ended, the company simply said: "We will continuing to engage in consultation with our staff and their representatives." It is understood Mr Walsh impressed on the unions that the only way for Aer Lingus to drive down fares further was by cutting costs.

Unions on the other hand expressed unease at the scale of the job losses involved. Contrary to earlier reports the total number of jobs to go is believed to be 1,325. According to an information sheet provided to the unions, the airline wants about 450 check-in and baggage staff to go, about 200 catering staff, several hundred cabin crew, 80 cleaning staff, 70 pilots and 60 cargo staff.

The staff may be asked to leave as early as January 2005, said sources. "The whole thing is a little more front-loaded than we thought," said one union source.

Speaking after the meeting, Impact assistant general secretary Ms Christina Carney said her union told management it would not accept the imposition of change without agreement.

"Reported proposals to slash over 1,300 jobs would be excessive and Impact will resist compulsory redundancies and any attempt to impose change without consultation and agreement," she said.

At this stage, most staff members are waiting to see what the company offers in redundancy. The package will need to exceed significantly the last Aer Lingus redundancy deal, said one worker last night. The last deal involved four weeks pay for every year of service, plus €1,000 for each year up to a limit of €20,000.