TEAM workers firm on Aer Lingus status

A Spokesman for workers at TEAM Aer Lingus has said they do not want to give up their status as Aer Lingus employees "end of story".

With just 10 days left to the deadline by which the workers must agree to a buy-out by Dutch conglomerate FLS Industries, or face closure, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke, has called for a "much more intense" effort by management to reassure workers.

She said that in recent meetings she has held with TEAM workers, one of the issues which had arisen was workers' concerns about their pensions. This was one of the issues which should be dealt with in intensified management-worker meetings, she said.

Mrs O'Rourke said she would be meeting representatives of FLS Industries this week to discuss the proposed deal.

Asked about the letters of comfort held by the workers, Mrs O'Rourke told RTE's This Week programme that, in her opinion, the letters were "guarantees of employment". However, she said that a "job for life" was a misnomer and that if a company was not viable it could not be subsidised.

She would not comment on what percentage of the workers she felt would have to give up their letters of comfort for the proposed deal to go ahead. If the deal collapsed, she would await proposals from management regarding what should happen next.

Trade union co-ordinator at TEAM, Mr Eamon Devoy, said Mrs O'Rourke had made "another contradictory statement". He said the minister accepted the letters constituted guarantees of employment with Aer Lingus, yet she was saying the deal with FLS was the best option and that there was no such thing as a job for life.

"She can't say both. The letters say the workers can remain as Aer Lingus employees. She has created further confusion."

Mr Devoy said he did not believe the issue of pensions was a major one. The TEAM workers wanted to remain Aer Lingus employees, "end of story".

Back in 1990 when TEAM was being established, the workers did not want to move to TEAM. No trade union or employee had looked for letters of comfort, Mr Devoy said. "It was a Government decision".

He said the order books for TEAM were full for the next two years and the company was in profit. However he accepted it was not making sufficient profits for necessary re-investment.

Only 600 of the approximately 1,500 workers at TEAM have said they are in favour of selling their letters of comfort so as to allow the takeover of TEAM by FLS.

A second letter urging acceptance of an offer from Aer Lingus has been sent to the approximately 930 workers who failed to respond to an earlier call from the company to sell their letters of comfort and opt for the FLS takeover. The letter states that the only option available is acceptance of the FLS offer.

At the beginning of this month Aer Lingus said it was giving the TEAM workers 4 weeks to make up their minds. If the FLS deal was not accepted by then it would close down TEAM and make most of its staff redundant.

A spokesman for Aer Lingus said ground floor level meetings between management and workers were ongoing. Different workers had different concerns, such as losing staff travel, the pension issue, or leaving Aer Lingus. The intensification of this process of consultation was well under way, he said.

The spokesman said some workers wished to stay in the Aer Lingus pension fund. The company has proposed that, with FLS approval, the workers be moved to an identical fund that would give the exact same rights and benefits as they have at present within the Aer Lingus fund.

"The core issue is what will happen to TEAM if the FLS deal does not go ahead," the spokesman said. "The move to FLS will safeguard the workers' futures."