The grounding of the Aer Lingus fleet for the second time in eight days, and the prospect of power cuts at the ESB because of renewed strike threats, must seem like a return to the bad old days of the 1980s. Ironically the resurgence of industrial relations problems in both companies is a product of the current boom. In Aer Lingus, in particular, employees believe it is time to get a payback for the sacrifices of the past. What they seem to forget is that there is now a real danger of causing the airline serious damage. Both sides must bring positive proposals to next Monday's Labour Court talks.
Public patience with our publicly-owned transport companies is wearing thin. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, has not helped with her priority of keeping the trains, buses - and now the planes - moving regardless of cost. At the same time it has to be recognised that the vast majority of transport workers, including Aer Lingus ground staff, are only now moving out of the ranks of the low paid.
The problem is that just as wage rates begin to rise the economy has started to slow down. Aer Lingus may be one of the most profitable "full service" airlines in the world, but it is entering a period fraught with difficulties - as evidenced by the decision to hold a special board meeting next Monday. The last such meeting was during the crisis that led to the cost reducing Cahill Plan in the mid-1990s.
Simple arithmetic shows the fragile state of the airline's financial health. In a very favourable commercial climate profits are running at almost £60 million a year, but pay rises already conceded in the current round of talks amount to £20 million - and this is before a settlement has been reached with senior managers or the airline's pilots. Pension provision will then have to be made on top of this.
Management strategy at Aer Lingus must also be called into question. When the first strike by cabin crew took place last October the company argued it was better to take a hit on trading losses on the day - estimated at £2 million - than concede the sort of increases being demanded. We have now had five stoppages and the losses sustained may be as high as £15 million, according to figures given by Ms O'Rourke in the Dail on Thursday.
The industrial relations climate has suffered in part because SIPTU is no longer the union representing the vast majority of Aer Lingus employees. It must now compete with IMPACT to show it can deliver settlements every bit as good. The days when SIPTU could afford to balance the commercial needs of the company, and the long-term needs for job security of its own members against short-term wage gains, appear to be gone.
A similar process of fragmentation in the industrial relations process appears to have taken place in the ESB. In its case previous restructuring negotiations suffered some slippage, but the company succeeded in bringing all the unions into new agreements together. This time around the finishing line has been moved from October 31st, 2000 to March 31st, 2001, and now May 31st.
The decision of SIPTU and the ESB Officers' Association to give two weeks strike action in pursuit of similar 28 per cent pay claims may be excessive. It should focus minds in both management and union ranks on how to break out of the inertia currently engulfing the state energy company. The heady days when Ms O'Rourke was pressing ahead with plans for privatisation are long past.