Trade union Siptu is today expected to re-institute plans for a ballot on industrial action at the airline Aer Arann.
The dispute centres around plans by the airline to transfer about 40 staff in areas such as check-in and baggage handling at Dublin airport to a separate company, Sky Handling Partners, later this month.
Siptu has expressed concern at the financial offer made by Aer Arann to its members, who will be transferred to Sky. It is understood Aer Arann has offered a €500 payment to all staff.
However, Siptu has claimed in a letter to the company that this figure was about €2,000 per year of service short of that negotiated in similar cases in the past.
The union is seeking clarification on a number of issues in relation to terms and conditions of employment with the new company. It is understood the airline has told staff existing terms and conditions would be met, and in some cases more would be paid.
Aer Arann does not recognise Siptu for collective bargaining purposes. The airline has said it consults with its employees through its in-house staff association and that the issues raised by Siptu had been explained at direct meetings with staff. Last week it told the Labour Relations Commission it would be "inappropriate" for it to attend a conciliation conference now.
Siptu last week indicated it was intending to ballot its members at the airline on industrial action, including strike action.
These plans were suspended last week to facilitate a possible referral of the issue to the commission's advisory service. However, these proposals fell through at the end of the week.
