Aer Lingus workers who are members of Siptu have backed a proposed redundancy deal at the airline by a large majority.
The ballot of workers concluded this evening with 80 per cent voting in favour of the proposal. Under the deal, some staff at the airline would leave with a severance package and be re-employed on different terms.
This would allow Aer Lingus to claim a rebate from the State on some of the cost of the statutory redundancy element of payments on offer to staff who are leaving.
The union said it welcomed the ballot result "as the first step towards preventing the outsourcing of over 1,300 jobs and securing the long term viability of Aer Lingus.”
In a statement this evening, Siptu National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said: "It is now a matter for the company to evaluate the options each individual has made under the alternative cost savings plan to see if it provides a viable option.
“SIPTU will also be analysing and evaluating the savings achieved when our members make their returns to Aer Lingus management tomorrow on their preferred options.
"Staff members have up until 5pm tomorrow to notify the company of their preferred options," he said.
Siptu and Aer Lingus are both confident that the proposal comes within the Redundancy Payments Acts.
Sources have maintained that there will be a delay of possibly four weeks before staff who leave under the proposals could return and they would also have to compete for their jobs.
The "leave and return" scheme forms part of a package agreed by management and Siptu as an alternative to proposals put forward by the airline to cut around 1,300 jobs through outsourcing, redundancy and early retirement.
The company needs 7 per cent of staff in Cork and Dublin, and 35 per cent of staff in Shannon to leave. It also needs half of the remaining staff to migrate onto the new terms and conditions provided for to achieve the cost savings necessary, Siptu said.