Action likely over plan for Shannon, says Siptu

Industrial action will be inevitable over the Government’s plans for Shannon Airport unless “meaningful assurances” can be provided on issues such as job security and terms and conditions, the trade union Siptu has warned.

Siptu president Jack O’Connor said the security and quality of employment in the State’s international airports would be placed under threat by the Government’s decision to separate Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority.

He said that, unless the issues in contention could be resolved and meaningful assurances provided, industrial action would be inevitable. He also warned that any such action could extend to other parts of the DAA, which currently operates Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

In a letter to Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions David Begg said there was no confidence in the viability of the business plan for the Government’s proposed new entity based around Shannon Airport. Mr Begg said the union movement was appalled at the “reckless insistence on a project, which, to our best knowledge, is supported by little . . . reliable evidence”.

Last night, spokesmen for Mr Varadkar and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said: “Shannon Airport is dying on its feet with passenger numbers falling, while Shannon Development is in an unsustainable financial position . . . Doing nothing would involve very substantial risk.”