Air chaos averted as controllers call off strike

TRANSATLANTIC and domestic flights will not be disrupted this month as air traffic controllers have called off their proposed strike.

The controllers’ union IMPACT and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) have agreed to forward their dispute to the Labour Court. Its findings will be binding on both parties. The decision came at 11.30pm on Thursday after 14 hours of talks at the Labour Relations Commission.

“We have withdrawn our notice of strike action and the company will not take anyone off the payroll until the Labour Court has ruled,” IMPACT assistant general secretary Michael Landers said.

If the union’s 300 air traffic controllers had gone on strike, 1,000 domestic flights would be grounded and 1,000 transatlantic flights would have to be rerouted. IMPACT has also ended its work to rule action, which included 20 air traffic controllers refusing to work on trials of Cairde, a new air traffic management system. The staff requested to be transferred to normal duties but were sent home on full pay last Monday. They returned to work on the Cairde system yesterday morning.

The student controllers must wait for the Labour Court’s decision before they learn if they will be employed or not. The dispute began when the Irish Aviation Authority announced it would not be able to provide jobs in Dublin, Cork or Shannon airports for 22 student air traffic controllers.

After balloting its members IMPACT issued strike notice in response. Student controllers are traditionally guaranteed employment when they graduate and IMPACT believes the IAA has a duty to provide either staff jobs or temporary employment across Europe. The IAA argues it cannot employ any more staff. It will have a surplus of 51 air traffic controllers by next July at a cost of €75,000 each in salaries and pensions annually.

The IAA has introduced a voluntary early retirement scheme to address the overstaffing problem. But it said this was unlikely to result in jobs for the student controllers. With over a third of air traffic controllers under 35 it is unlikely large numbers will take early retirement.

“It’s not a quid pro quo arrangement. But if we get 70 controllers to retire then we would not be in a position to employ the 22 student controllers,” IAA spokeswoman Lilian Cassels said.