Aer Lingus union leaders meet Minister for Transport Martin Cullen this afternoon in advance of an expected Cabinet decision tomorrow to proceed with a part-privatisation of the airline.
It is now anticipated that Mr Cullen will propose a September flotation of the company, rather than a sell-off by June as had been expected. The Government is likely to retain a 25 per cent stake.
Today's meeting was requested by Mr Cullen, who promised last month that workers' representatives would be consulted before a final decision was taken by the Cabinet. One of the two main unions involved, Siptu, has balloted already for industrial action in the event of privatisation being imposed without agreement.
A less strident stance has been adopted by the other major union in the company, Impact, which is seeking guarantees on a number of issues including pay, pensions and job security.
Impact deputy general secretary Shay Cody said yesterday it would raise two main concerns with Mr Cullen today.
Firstly, it would seek an assurance that all of its concerns about industrial relations issues, such as job security and pay, would be addressed before privatisation was implemented. Secondly, it wanted a commitment that the intention to retain a 25 per cent State holding in the company was a long-term strategy, he said.
Mr Cody said that while Impact, which represents pilots and cabin crew, had no plans for industrial action, it reserved the right to go that route if its concerns were not addressed.
Siptu, however, is to warn Aer Lingus today that it will face industrial action if it proceeds to privatisation without agreement.
Members of the union, which represents about half the airline's 3,600 staff, voted by a nine-to-one majority last week in favour of such a stance.
A Government spokesman confirmed yesterday that the privatisation plan was likely to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow.
The plan was in the final stages of preparation, he said, and the date for the flotation could be September, rather than June as expected earlier. The Government did not have any problem with September if it was necessary to wait until then to get everything right,.
Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion said last month that unless a decision was taken in March, getting a sale completed by June would be difficult.