Aer Lingus threatens legal action if union strikes in pension row

Aer Lingus is threatening legal action if Siptu goes ahead with a strike in the latest twist in the ongoing row over the €780 million hole in the pension fund that it operates jointly with Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

Siptu is set to begin balloting members in the airline and airport operator next week for industrial action as the trade union says there is growing frustration over the delay in resolving the dispute.

However, Aer Lingus says it intends to take legal advice as to whether the threatened industrial action is in actual fact a “trade dispute” under the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

If Siptu is acting outside this legislation, the airline adds, it could hold the union and its officers “personally liable in respect of any losses” that it suffers as a result.

Siptu official Dermot O’Loughlin said yesterday members were concerned that they had to continue paying contributions into the pension fund at the rate of about €500,000 a week, which they were effectively losing because it was insolvent. “Our members are becoming more and more agitated about this,” he added.

Efforts to resolve the row over the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) were deadlocked for several years until a Labour Court proposal issued last May offered some prospect of a solution.

That involves Aer Lingus and DAA contributing almost €200 million to a new, defined contribution scheme in tandem with freezing the IASS.

Resolution framework
Aer Lingus said that this provided a framework for a resolution and accused Siptu of contravening it. The company pointed out that it had already agreed to pay a salary increase that formed part of the recommendations.

However, Mr O’Loughlin argued that this increase would have been due this year in any case. A DAA spokesman said that any threat of industrial action was unnecessary.