The threat of renewed strike action at Aer Lingus next Wednesday appears to be receding. The IMPACT cabin crew committee is expected to seek a meeting with the Labour Court later today after meeting to discuss new settlement proposals in the pay dispute.
The proposals are based on direct talks with the company on Friday night. The new peace formula is based closely on the Labour Court's proposals last week, which averted Friday's threatened strike. SIPTU was involved in parallel talks with Aer Lingus on behalf of its cabin crew members. The union has been offered the same terms as IMPACT. Both management and union sources were optimistic yesterday that Wednesday's threatened strike could be averted.
The Labour Court proposed that it would be willing to award between £590 and £1,090 a year to cabin crew managers to restore their differential with other cabin crew grades. It also proposed putting two of the most objectionable new work practices "on ice", while they were discussed by a joint management-union study group.
These are the heavier duty rosters for new entrants and the extension of "coupling", or cabin crew working back-to-back flights, from short haul to longer haul routes. The company is understood to have given firm commitments that cabin crew concerns would be addressed seriously within the six months' timeframe for the study group.
However, it has also become clear that cabin crew cannot expect major extra concessions short of protracted industrial action.
Even then it is unlikely because any further concessions would reopen disputes with SIPTU's 2,800 clerical and operative grades, as well as upping the opening stakes in the forthcoming pay talks with pilots.
Meanwhile, Mandate called off its strike at Dublin Airport shops after new proposals on Sunday working were proposed at the Labour Relations Commission. These provide double time for Sunday working. Mandate is recommending acceptance.