Aer Rianta row a threat to partnership, warns SITPU chief
In an interview with the Irish Examiner today, SIPTU president Jack O'Connor said social partnership could be endangered should planned strike action at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports escalate into a major stand-off.
"I have often criticised social partnership but it would be very regrettable if those who have conspired to bring this about were to succeed in removing social partnership as one of the options available for developing the economy and improving quality of life in our society," he said.
As Aer Rianta worker-director Peter Dunne vowed that a two-hour stoppage, planned to disrupt an EU Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Dublin, would go ahead next Thursday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern called on SIPTU to reconsider its options.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Mr Ahern said the planned strike was unnecessary and irresponsible.
"This is an imported bad habit. It seems to be repeating itself in every presidency," he said.
However, Mr Dunne said the strike will proceed on Thursday 22 January unless the Taoiseach intervenes and suspends the proposal to break up Aer Rianta until a proper business plan has been published and analysed.
He said Aer Rianta workers had been backed into a corner and rejected the Taoiseach's charge they were acting irresponsibly.
Although Aer Rianta's other unions the TEEU, Mandate and IMPACT have so far withheld from joining SIPTU in strike action, they will today react to Transport Minister Seamus Brennan's response to a letter from ICTU seeking clarification of his job guarantees and promise of no redundancies.
That letter said to be of a general nature was received by ICTU yesterday. However, the Government's response to a more detailed letter sent by SIPTU is not expected before tomorrow. That response will largely dictate whether SIPTU will commence strike action next week.
A spokesman for Mr Brennan said a detailed response to all the points raised in SIPTU's letter was being prepared and the Minister was confident all the union's concerns would be addressed.
Mr O'Connor said the Government could no longer fudge on its reason for breaking up Aer Rianta.
"If the Minister is confident of the correctness of the strategy he is following then it should be possible for the Minister and the Government to commit to evidence to support his plan but after 12 months of trying to find it we have found nothing," he said.
Meanwhile, the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland's (CCI's) Air Transport Users Council (ATUC) yesterday urged the Government to penalise any Aer Rianta union seeking to sabotage Ireland's EU Presidency.
ATUC chairman and director designate of the proposed new Shannon Airport Authority, Tadhg Kearney, said: "National partnership brings responsibilities as well as benefits and if SIPTU persists in disrupting the EU Presidency it should have these benefits, including its privileged access to Government buildings, withdrawn."
