AER LINGUS and Siptu appear to be on course for strike action after the airline withdrew yesterday from talks at the Labour Relations Commission and said it planned to press ahead with plans to outsource 1,245 jobs at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.
Aer Lingus's decision to pull out out the consultation process angered Siptu and has heightened the likelihood of its members at the airline voting in favour of industrial action when a ballot of workers closes on November 7th.
The talks had lasted for four weeks and Aer Lingus said it was "frankly disappointing" that the union had "failed to engage in any meaningful way" to produce an alternative proposal to its plan to outsource ground operations in a bid to cut costs and return the airline to profitability.
"The reality is that the airline does not have time on its side and cannot endure another year of losses in 2009," Aer Lingus said.
Aer Lingus said it would select preferred outsourcing suppliers by the end of next week.
Siptu rejected Aer Lingus's claims. National industrial secretary Gerry McCormack said it had sought to agree the terms of a redundancy package before engaging on alternative cost-cutting proposals.
Mr McCormack said the union remained totally opposed to the outsourcing of jobs. "Should the company proceed unilaterally with its outsourcing plans, we will proceed in turn with industrial action," Mr McCormack said.
It is understood that Aer Lingus was offering nine weeks' pay per year of service up to a maximum of 130 weeks, with a minimum payout of €40,000.
Siptu had sought to increase the payout to 10 weeks per year of service and to eliminate the cap on the number of qualifying weeks. It also wanted the minimum payout to be increased.