Aer Lingus pilots will stop work from 5am to 1pm on Saturday, June 29, after accusing the company of escalating their pay dispute. This is in addition to the previously announced strict work that will apply from next Wednesday.
Members of the Irish Airlines Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) informed the company of the closure on Friday afternoon.
The pilots’ move came as Aer Lingus made plans to cancel 24 flights a day next week, potentially affecting 4,000 passengers, in a bid to combat expected chaos from the pilots’ planned reigns, which begin on Wednesday.
The airline hopes the plan will protect as many services as possible and minimize last-minute cancellations.
[ Find your flight: What services have Aer Lingus dropped so far? ]
[ What are my rights if industrial action at Aer Lingus affects my holiday plans? ]
Captain Mark Tighe, president of Ialpa, said: “We have been forced to escalate this dispute following a hostile campaign by Aer Lingus management against our members. Instead of meeting with Ialpa for direct negotiations to resolve this dispute, the airline sends letters to Ialpa threatening to reduce its members’ terms and conditions by unilaterally terminating collective agreements.
“Aer Lingus’ legal representatives have also this week written to each member of Ialpa’s executive committee, in their personal capacity, threatening to initiate proceedings in the High Court over alleged unlawful conduct relating to an alleged increase in number of pilots due to illness,” said Captain Tighe.
“IALPA refutes this allegation in the strongest terms.
“Aer Lingus has not requested a meeting since the work-to-government notice was served earlier this week. The company has made no effort to negotiate a settlement to avoid action beginning Wednesday,” he said.
Captain Tighe added that the scale of flight cancellations announced by Aer Lingus next week “illustrates the extent to which the company is dependent on the flexibility and goodwill of pilots”.
The strict work to reign already announced by pilots and coming into effect on Wednesday makes impossible flexible working, which is crucial for an airline’s operations during the summer, when most people fly. It will result in canceled flights, delays and other problems for Aer Lingus.
Their union is seeking pay increases of 23.88 percent to compensate members for inflation since their last pay rise in 2019 and, they say, to bring wages in line with airlines such as British Airways, part of the same group as Aer Lingus .
Aer Lingus labor strike: what impact will this have on passengers?
Most recently, Ialpa rejected an Employment Tribunal recommendation that members accept increases totaling 9.25 percent. The union notified its work to govern last Tuesday.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has urged both sides in the pay dispute to “step back from the brink” to ensure that hardworking people who have saved for the summer holidays “are not left in serious trouble”.
“I honestly don’t think there’s any justification for that, given the impact it will have. The impact is disproportionate and people really need to step back from the edge.
“This will have consequences for children and parents who want to go on holiday; it will also impact the business; it will also affect people coming into our country in terms of tourism,” he continued.
Speaking from the Isle of Man, where he was attending a meeting of the British-Irish Council, Mr Harris encouraged the company and the pilots’ union to come to the table for the negotiations they will inevitably have to have to end the row.
“Disputes are only resolved through negotiations, that is how they are always resolved. And the question for both sides now is: will they try to resolve it now and show maturity in this regard, or will they let this drag on and end up in talks anyway? Conversations need to take place, disputes are only resolved through conversations, and what I am asking is: now we shorten the lengthy process and all the chaos that will arise for the people, and actually come to the table quickly.”