Aer Lingus cabin crew met last night to consider Labour Court proposals to resolve their pay dispute.
As expected, the court has recommended that some of the more contentious work practices sought by the company be deferred while a joint union-management working group looks at a range of cost-saving measures.
The final pay terms in the court recommendation provide for a basic pay scale of £13,000 to £22,500 over 15 years. Senior cabin crew are being offered from £16,150 to £26,000 over the same time period.
The scale for supervisors will be £18,000 to £28,000 and that for cabin managers will range from £19,000 to £29,000.
All staff are being guaranteed minimum increases of £2,000 a year. There was a similar provision in the Labour Court recommendation for Aer Lingus clerical grades.
Meanwhile, 150 striking British Midland ground staff at Dublin Airport were meeting last night to review the situation in the light of a decision by 1,500 British staff to accept the latest settlement terms to the dispute. This offers up to £10,000 to staff transferring to Gatwick Haulage International.
British Midland's director of personnel, Ms Jill Nealon, said: "We are delighted that unions in the UK have agreed to accept the transfer package. We would now urge our ground staff here to enter into conciliation talks with the company in advance of the Labour Court hearing with a view to resolving this dispute as swiftly as possible."
The Labour Court has brought forward the hearing from March 9th to March 1st at the request of the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt.