Two sides agreed over weekend to resume negotiations as tens of thousands of passengers face disruption this week
With tens of thousands of Aer Lingus passengers set to be hit by industrial action this week – including an eight-hour strike by pilots on Saturday – the government has been pressing for a resolution to the dispute.
On Sunday, Ialpa said that Aer Lingus had requested to resume direct negotiations.
“Ialpa has indicated that the association is willing to return to negotiations to try and find resolution to the current dispute,” it said.
However, despite calls from the government, consumers and businesses for an end to the pay dispute, there is still no date set for the talks to resume.
And it’s not clear yet if a date will even be scheduled by the end of today.
Aer Lingus has previously insisted that any talks with Ialpa must be “meaningful”. The carrier has insisted that it won’t offer more than the 12.25pc pay increase it has already tabled unless pilots agree to productivity and flexibility improvements.
But the pilot union has said it is not willing to yield to those demands, claiming it would effectively see its members paying for a salary increase.
Ialpa is seeking a near 24pc pay increase for its members.
The Labour Court previously recommended an interim increase of 9.25pc, which was rejected by the pilots. An independent pilot pay tribunal last year also recommended 12.25pc and a 1.5pc increase in unconsolidated pay.
“The only real way of building their pay beyond the 12.25pc [offered by the airline] is to have a discussion on productivity and flexibility,” said Mr Moriarty last week. “That’s the only way it can work.”
Previous talks between the airline and the union ended last Monday. The pilot union subsequently announced an indefinite work-to-rule that begins this Wednesday. It later announced an eight-hour strike that will take place on Saturday.
Ialpa president Mark Tighe told RTÉ’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday that pilots are seeking to retain their previous pay, not to improve it. He insisted that the 24pc increase being sought is to reflect the impact of inflation on pilot salaries since 2019. He also told the programme that the airline had become “very aggressive” in the past week in its actions towards pilots in the past week.
Aer Lingus is cancelling at least 244 flights between Wednesday and Sunday. That includes 120 that have been axed on Saturday due to the strike action that day, hitting 15,000 passengers.
During the summer, Aer Lingus operates about 1,550 flights a week, or approximately 220 a day. It normally carries about 40,000 passengers a day during what is its busiest time of year.
If talks resume, Aer Lingus has also previously stated that it would expect industrial action to be suspended while negotiations remain underway.
Even if action is suspended at this stage, there will still be huge upheaval for passengers.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said on Monday morning that it was “shocking” that the public were being ignored by both sides in the airline dispute.
“I think it is shocking the degree to which the needs of those who travel are being, in my view, ignored in the context of this dispute,” he said in Luxembourg, where he’s attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“There’s only one way to resolve this, it’s through negotiations and getting around the table. It is that simple by the way, and all disputes end, and the most effective way that they end is by utilising the industrial relations machinery that we have available in the State, which is the WRC and the Labour Court,” Mr Martin said.
He added: “The Labour Court did issue a recommendation, an interim one, which does form the basis, in my view, for further negotiations.
“I would appeal to both sides to get around the table and to think of the many thousands of families and workers across the country,” said Mr Martin.
“This is the one time in the year that they get an opportunity to travel for their holidays,” he added. “They’ve planned for these, they’ve saved for these – it’s shocking that they’re being ignored, and wilfully, if you like, put to one side in this battle between the management of Aer Lingus and unions.”
While the government has the power under industrial relations legislation to directly intervene in the dispute, it does not intend to force the two sides back to the Labour Court or the Workplace Relations Commission.