Aer Rianta strike to target EU flights

THE flights of up to 25 EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers will be deliberately targeted by a SIPTU Aer Rianta strike next week.

Stepping up their campaign against the break-up of Aer Rianta, the strike committee of SIPTU's 5,000-strong Aer Rianta branch yesterday announced details of industrial action aimed at disrupting EU Presidency traffic and embarrassing the Government.

The union's national industrial secretary, Michael Halpenny, said the action would affect Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

Aer Rianta workers in Cork earlier endorsed the decision of Shannon and Dublin colleagues to begin limited industrial action.

The threatened strike action puts SIPTU at odds with the other Aer Rianta unions the TEEU, Mandate and IMPACT which have reacted positively to a letter sent by Transport Minister Seamus Brennan last Friday in which unions were promised financial details in relation to the break-up.

The first in a series of threatened stoppages, timed to coincide with important EU meetings, will take place on Thursday next week between 8am and 10am as more than 25 European Justice and Home Affairs ministers fly into Dublin for a scheduled meeting in Dublin Castle.

However, next week's stoppage could also ground 57 scheduled incoming and outgoing flights as well as a quantity of private diplomatic traffic.

The move is likely to anger Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who has asked unions not to disrupt the EU presidency while a spokesman for Justice Minister Michael McDowell last night said the minister would be disappointed by any organisation that deliberately set out disrupt the EU presidency.

SIPTU's national industrial secretary Michael Halpenny said the union would aim to keep disruption to the public to a minimum.

"This is the first of a programme of limited industrial action focused on Aer Rianta's involvement in the EU Presidency and with a view to minimising the impact on the travelling public," he said.

"Today's decision arises from the ongoing failure of Aer Rianta and the Department of Transport to confirm reasonable guarantees on jobs, terms and conditions of employment and pensions, sought by the employees," he continued.

Further stoppages, timed to disrupt other EU meetings, have also been planned by SIPTU but will not be announced until before each EU meeting.

In a further development, SIPTU's Aer Rianta industrial action committee agreed to take up the invitation of the CIE industrial action committee to meet to discuss the possibility of a combined approach.

A spokesman for Aer Rianta said the company would be asking staff not to cause disruption to any passengers and to encourage their trade union representatives to examine how difficulties might be resolved.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said there seemed to be a great deal of confusion among the unions.

Mr Brennan would respond to letters from SIPTU president Jack O'Connor and ICTU's David Begg and further clarify his commitments by the end of the week, he said.