Siptu has rejected proposals put forward by management at Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority in a bid to solve an ongoing pension row.
The offers are part of Labour Relation Commission talks which had deferred work stoppages at Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The industrial action was due to begin on Monday last.
The union's pension committees at Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority “concluded the proposals are derisory in the context of the scale of the pension deficit”, Siptu organiser Dermot O’Loughlin said of moves to resolve the €748 million hole.
The union has written to the Labour Relations Commission seeking it assistance to obtain a “very significant improvement” on the offers by both companies.
It also asked the commission to “urgently comment” on the status of the negotiation process, he said.
Mr O’Loughlin said Aer Lingus had offered between €9 and €15 million to resolve the crisis and would “not inject any lump sums unless staff accept very significant productivity measures”.
However, in a statement, Aer Lingus said it regretted the union’s decision to release “wildly inaccurate details to the media in relation to the process aimed at resolving the funding issues within the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS). Such wild inaccuracy has the potential to destabilise the progress of the current talks”.
The airline said it remained “committed to finding an appropriate solution to the issues within the IASS and continues to engage with all the parties involved in the Labour Relations Commission process".
Mr O’Loughlin said also said that Dublin Airport Authority offered €33 million without preconditions and “another €10 million if ‘secondary’ pension matters are resolved”.
The issue involves the IASS operated for many years by the Dublin Airport Authority, Aer Lingus and SR Technics. It has 14,667 members. The scheme had a deficit of €748 million on May 31st, 2012.
