A Labour Court hearing on a pay dispute involving pilots at Aer Lingus has concluded.
The court will now consider the matter and issue a ruling at a future date.
Aer Lingus pilots and management attended the Labour Court today and last Monday in a bid to resolve the row.
In a message to members today, the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) said the court had clarified the positions of both IALPA and Aer Lingus.
“The Court has determined that further hearings are not required and will consider the case based on the parties’ positions,” IALPA said in its message.
Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in February aimed at resolving the pay dispute ended without agreement.
In December last year, an independent tribunal at Aer Lingus recommended a set of proposals that included a 12.25% pay increase.
For pilots, it would have meant an effective increase of 8.5%.
Members of IALPA voted to reject the deal however saying it did not reflect the impact of inflation and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain Aer Lingus during the Covid pandemic.
IALPA, which is a branch of the Fórsa trade union, said its members at Aer Lingus have not had a pay rise since 2019 and is seeking increases of more than 20%.
Aer Lingus has warned that the stance being taken by the union risks future investment, growth and jobs at the company.
Earlier this month, the airline said it looked unlikely that it would be allocated a new Airbus aircraft by its parent company IAG due to the ongoing pay dispute.
Aer Lingus has said that all other employee groups have already agreed terms similar to those proposed by the pilot pay tribunal.
The airline is also disputing IALPA’s claim that its members have not received a pay increase since 2019 as increments have continued to be paid allowing them to continue to move up the pay scale.