Siptu committee rejects airline pension plan

Trade union Siptu has poured cold water on hopes of an imminent solution to the long-running row over a €750 million hole in a pension fund operated jointly by Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

While both companies recently signalled their support for proposals designed to resolve the four-year-old dispute, put forward by a Government-backed expert panel, Siptu’s pensions committee yesterday said it would be rejecting them.

The committee has not yet said why it was rejecting the panel’s report. It originally indicated it would issue a statement yesterday, but then said it would not do so until today.

Although it has rejected the proposals, it is understood the issue will still have to go to a ballot of Siptu members.

The expert panel requires both Aer Lingus and DAA to increase their contributions to a new fund that will replace the insolvent Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme defined benefit plan.

Impact

Separately the trade union Impact, which represents Aer Lingus cabin crew and other staff at the airline as well as at the DAA, said it would be balloting members on the expert group proposals for the pension scheme. It said there would also be an information campaign on the proposals.

Impact also said meetings between unions and management would take place shortly to discuss the final proposals received from Aer Lingus and the DAA.

Impact said all unions had agreed a recommendation from the expert group to establish a joint communications steering group.