Flights take off on time as pilots and management continue battle

AER LINGUS aircraft took to the skies relatively on schedule yesterday, something that was far from guaranteed just two days earlier as 480 pilots looked likely to ground 45,000 passengers.

However, on the ground there appeared to be no take-off whatsoever in the battle between pilots and management at the airline.

The sides went into talks at 11am with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and within two hours were back out, told not to come back until next Monday. No doubt commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey, who has taken personal control of the mediation, will be hoping when both return they will be in slightly more accommodating moods.

Mr Mulvey told the parties not to divulge the content of what little discussions they had to the media — he had already commented last week that too many broadsides were being fired through the press rather than around a negotiating table.

In deference to his request neither side would confirm whether the terms and conditions of Belfast pilots, the reason why there were nearly no Aer Lingus flights for two days, were being discussed.

The airline has said the fact that Belfast pilots are on local terms and conditions is not something it will debate with its 480 pilots.

The decisions that have been made on that will remain in place, it has repeated persistently.

However, management is prepared to debate how the effect of the Belfast conditions will impact on pilots in the Republic.

Even on that, though, it is unlikely to give much leeway either given the fact it is already embroiled in a parallel fight with unions over cost-cutting measures it wants to implement south of the Border.

A new issue has arisen with the appointment of the pilots in Belfast.

When Aer Lingus placed adverts in the Northern media as well as its website for the staff for the new base it placed itself in the complex arena of Northern equality legislation.

The airline will have to be seen to ensure any pilot who wants to apply in the North has equal opportunity to secure a post as a pilot in the south wanting to move up North. It has, therefore, told the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association it will not be able to give the existing pilots “first refusal” on the jobs.

“We fear that if our Dublin-based pilots are given first refusal in Belfast there will be a strong perception that these are ‘Roman Catholic’ jobs to the exclusion of Protestants,” said Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion.

“This could leave the airline open to attack both from the Northern Irish press and, more significantly, open to fair employment tribunal claims. Of course, there is nothing to prevent pilots based in Dublin being fairly appointed to the positions if they apply for them in exactly the same way as external candidates and secure the positions firmly on the basis of merit.”