Aer Lingus workers urged to reject privatisation

THE head of the country’s largest union yesterday urged Aer Lingus workers to reject privatisation of the company, which could yield them an average €30,000 windfall each.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is considering three possible options for privatising Aer Lingus, in which workers have a 15% stake.

But SIPTU president Jack O’Connor said they would be urging all their Aer Lingus members to reject any bid to privatise the company.

Mr O’Connor said privatisation would ultimately have huge implications for job security and pensions down the road.

Asked why he would try to stop Aer Lingus workers securing the €30,000 windfall from any privatisation deal, the SIPTU president said: “We will urge them to be wary of people bearing gifts because there is no such thing as partial privatisation and the workers will have no control over who becomes the ultimate owner.”

The SIPTU president said he believed there were ways around EU regulations on competitions that prohibit Government investment in State companies.

“If private investors think it is a sustainable venture, why cannot it be sustainable for the State to invest in such a company?” Mr O’Connor asked.

SIPTU members make up 55% of the Aer Lingus workers and most of the other workers are members of IMPACT.

An IMPACT spokesperson was unavailable for comment last night.

Aer Lingus chairman Tom Mulcahy has written to Mr Brennan, urging him to quickly seize the “window of opportunity” presented by the current healthy state of the airline’s finances and bring in private investors.

The minister’s spokesman confirmed yesterday that he was considering three possible options for privatising Aer Lingus but would not make any final decision until he had secured expert advice.

Mr Brennan is expected to appoint these advisors early in the New Year and bring concrete proposals to Cabinet by the middle of 2004.

“The minister has an open mind at the moment and will consider all options,” his spokesman said. The three options are:

A flotation on the stock market.

A private placing of shares to financial institutions.

The sale of Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus management favours a private placing, followed within 18 months by flotation.

But the Government is likely to oppose this because it would offer shares to institutions at a discount and this would be perceived as being unfair to the public, who would be excluded from this offer.