SIPTU HAS said that many of its members at Aer Lingus have reached the point where they are not prepared to make further large-scale changes to work practices to boost the profits of the airline.
About 1,800 Siptu members, who work mainly as ground operations staff, voted decisively earlier this week to reject a deal on work practice reforms reached between management and union negotiators.
Following a meeting of shop stewards at the airline yesterday Siptu said that it had asked the management of Aer Lingus to engage with union representatives at local level to resolve outstanding issues in relation to the deal, "particularly the lack of workable rosters".
Siptu's national industrial secretary, Gerry McCormack, said: "Local discussions have already begun on outstanding difficulties, such as the need for workable rosters, and we are urging a speedy resolution to these talks."
He said that if the talks went well the union would consider carrying out a second ballot.
The union maintains that the company's failure to produce workable rosters to operate under the new work practice arrangements had contributed significantly to the rejection of the deal.
However, it said yesterday that opposition to the proposed changes, which are aimed at generating about €10 million in savings for the company, was also based on the fact that the airline was already profitable.
"Major reasons for resistance to the changes proposed by the company are the fact that it has generated profits in excess of €80 million in the past year, is performing well against competitors and continues to impose a pay freeze on members," the union stated.
It maintained that as of this month its members had been denied pay increases of approximately 7.5 per cent.
"As a result, they are reluctant to accept changes that represent a serious deterioration in working conditions and impact severely on family life when they are already doing a good job.
"We appreciate the need to resolve this impasse as quickly as possible while keeping before us the fact that people work to live, not live simply to boost profits," Siptu said in its statement.
Aer Lingus has held a series of meetings with staff over recent days aimed at clarifying and explaining the new rosters.