Craft workers have 30% claim rejected

A claim for a 30 per cent pay increase by 600 craft workers at FLS Aerospace has been rejected by the Labour Court.

Craft unions at the loss-making aircraft maintenance company, which employs nearly 1,500 at Dublin Airport, have been pursuing the claim for three years.

They claim that craft workers' pay at the company has fallen behind rates at Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta and they are entitled to have parity restored.

The company told the court, however, that the workers had been paid €56 million when it purchased their former employer, Team Aer Lingus, in 1998.

As a result, pay relativities with Aer Lingus no longer applied. The court backed the company's stance.

It also found that the pay claim, first lodged in October 2000, was a "cost increasing" one and was consequently debarred under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

It did suggest, however, that there was scope for the two sides to engage in negotiations on cost-cutting measures. The savings from these could be used to increase pay on a "cost-neutral" basis to the company.

It recommended that the two parties jointly explore the matter under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission.