Aer Lingus passengers face an end to disruption after pilots backed a 17.75 per cent pay rise ending a dispute that hit almost 86,000 travellers this summer.
Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), part of trade union Fórsa, voted 85 per cent in favour of the deal, tabled by the Labour Court, in a ballot that has run since Thursday.
The move means a final end to their pay dispute with Aer Lingus that led to a work to rule and strike that hit the airline’s operations in June.
The Labour Court recommended the 17.75 per cent increase two weeks ago after hearing both sides five days earlier.
Aer Lingus agreed to the deal shortly afterwards, while Ialpa’s executive subsequently recommended it to members, immediately suspending their industrial action, which had run for 14 days.
[ Analysis: Aer Lingus could be facing further industrial unrestOpens in new window ]
The work to rule prompted the airline to cancel 573 flights, hitting the travel plans of almost 86,000 passengers at its busiest time of year.
Ialpa lodged its original pay claim in October 2022. In January pilots rejected an increase offer worth 12.25 per cent, in line with what other Aer Lingus workers received, made by an internal pay tribunal.
The airline and union went to the Workplace Relations Commission, which failed to break the deadlock, and then to the Labour Court.
Pilots’ rejection of the court’s original recommendation paved the way for a vote on industrial action, which the union completed in mid-June.
Ialpa members began their work to rule on Wednesday June 26th, and halted all duties for an eight-hour strike on Saturday, June 29th, during which around 500 of them marched and picketed at Dublin Airport.
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