Workers at Dublin and Cork airports agree pay deal

Staff back 10.3% rise over three years

Most workers in Cork and Dublin airports have voted for pay increases worth 10.3 per cent over three years in a new deal with their employer and airport operator, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

The State company, which operates both airports, began talks to unions representing staff there in January.

DAA confirmed on Tuesday that 70 per cent of workers balloted voted for pay increases amounting to 10.3 per cent over three years, which union representatives recommended.

Staff will get a 4 per cent boost this month, followed by 3 per cent in March 2025 and a further 3 per cent 12 months after that in 2026.

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An authority spokesman described the talks as “very positive”. He added that the new pay deal follows on from the company’s current agreement, which ran for two years.

Members of trade unions Siptu, Mandate, Connect and Unite, working in both airports voted on the deal.

The airport operator is continuing talks with Fórsa, which mostly represents middle management grades.

News of the pay deal came as DAA reported that the two airports handled 2.3 million passengers in total in February.

Numbers at Dublin grew 5 per cent on February 2023 to 2.1 million passengers, while Cork got a 23 per cent boost to 193,000.

Kenny Jacobs, DAA chief executive said the year had started really strongly at both airports, with no visible let up in demand.

“That demand is being seen across the board, from business travel to family trips overseas,” he added.

Barry O'Halloran

Barry O'Halloran

Barry O’Halloran covers energy, construction, insolvency, and gaming and betting, among other areas