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Labour Court recommendation in Aer Lingus pilots’ pay dispute expected over coming week

Two sides made further submissions on their respective positions on Monday

Aer Lingus pilots and the company are at loggerheads over pay. Photograph: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

Emmet Malone
Mon Apr 29 2024 - 18:22

The Labour Court is expected to deliver its recommendation in relation to a pay claim worth more than 20 per cent over three years by Ialpa on behalf of pilots at Aer Lingus over the coming week.

The two sides made further submissions on their respective positions at the court on Monday.

The union puts the value of its claim, which includes the consolidation of some rostering changes made under the terms of a 2019 agreement, at about 24 per cent.

The company, which says it cannot go beyond the terms recommended by the internal Aer Lingus Pilots’ Pay Tribunal, which suggested an 8.5 per cent increase, values the union claim at about 27 per cent.

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The 8.5 per cent recommendation, which was based on a 12.25 per cent increase agreed by a number of other groups of staff at the company less the value put on the beneficial elements of the 2019 crewing agreement, was rejected by 98.1 per cent of the Ialpa members at the airline who participated in a ballot earlier this year.

The two sides previously attended the Workplace Relations Commission for talks but without any substantial progress being reported.

The considerable distance that remained between the public positions of the two sides had not generated much optimism of a resolution when the Labour Court became directly involved last week.

An initial session at the court was adjourned until Monday morning for additional submissions and while neither side gave any indication of a major breakthrough, the indication from the court that it would now issue a recommendation suggested some progress had been made.

In a briefing to its members at the airline issued on Monday, Ialpa said the Labour Court had “clarified the positions of both Ialpa and Aer Lingus”, and had determined no further hearings were required.

The court said it would “consider the case based on the parties’ positions”.

Aer Lingus has said the dispute is impacting on the provision by its owner International Airlines Group of six new Airbus aircraft over the coming, something it says would have generated 80 new pilots’ jobs at the company.

There have been suggestions that the delays to date in reaching a new agreement have already cost the airline the first of those aircraft.

The union says it supports the growth of the company and wants to see additional jobs but that cannot be achieved at the expense of existing members’ terms and conditions.

Aer Lingus pilots, Ialpa says, have not had a pay increase since 2019 – a claim disputed by the company – and have endured substantial cost of living increases in recent years while their pay rates have fallen behind those at other airlines.

It argues that having accepted substantial cuts to basic pay during the pandemic when aircraft were grounded, pilots should benefit from the company’s improved fortunes. Aer Lingus recorded profits of €225 million last year.

Aer Lingus chief operations officer Adrian Dunne had previously written to the union to say if a deal hadn’t been agreed by April 28th, an Airbus that had been scheduled to come into service with the company in September would be diverted to another of IAG’s subsidiaries.

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone is Work Correspondent at The Irish Times

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