THE Labour Court has issued a recommendation to settle the dispute at Aer Lingus over cabin crew numbers on the Dublin to New York route. Although neither management or unions would comment last night, the recommendation is likely to provide a satisfactory basis to resolve the differences.
Last week it looked as if there might be a full scale strike at the airline. The company wanted to replace one of the 11 Aer Lingus crew with a Delta airline cabin steward. SIPTU, the union representing 800 cabin crew, wanted to maintain existing crew levels.
The recommendation says the full Aer Lingus cabin crew complement of 11 should be retained but that SIPTU should agree to the Delta steward operating as a full member of the crew. The court also finds that the Delta steward should be allowed to occupy a crew seat during flights.
A spokesman for the company said it would be considering the recommendation in detail today. SIPTU representatives will be meeting today and tomorrow to consider whether to recommend its acceptance to members.