Aer Lingus workers set to vote for action

AER LINGUS workers are expected to vote overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in advance of negotiations over radical restructuring plans proposed by management.

Under the terms of the ballot, 2,000 SIPTU members in Aer Lingus have been asked to support a resolution not to co-operate with voluntary redundancy deals until there is overall agreement on any future plans for the company.

Although today's ballot will clear the way for strike action, no stoppages are expected in the short term.

Instead, SIPTU is expected to use the threat of industrial action as a bargaining chip in negotiations over redundancy deals.

Workers are already pushing for nine weeks of pay for every year served for the 1,300 due to lose their jobs - a high claim by public sector standards.

Workers are also concerned at plans to outsource operations such as catering, ground handling and cleaning. SIPTU national industrial secretary with responsibility for the public sector, Michael Halpenny, said no changes could proceed without union agreement.

"We expect a ringing endorsement of our right to ensure that there can be no restructuring plan without the agreement of the workforce," he said.

Meanwhile, relations between An Post and its unions continued to worsen yesterday as the Communications Workers Union (CWU) made a formal complaint to the Government over the company's decision to close its SDS parcel delivery service.

In a meeting with the Government's industrial relations trouble-shooting body - the National Implementation Body (NIB) - CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick told the NIB An Post had breached the national partnership agreement by failing to consult with workers prior to its decision to close SDS.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the company also failed to provide financial information to support the decision.

However, a spokesman for An Post, which posted losses of €43 million last year, denied both charges. "It's being downsized and rationalised so we can cut the losses. That level of loss is not sustainable," he said.

He also insisted unions had been told about the impending closure and would receive additional financial information in a meeting scheduled for today.