Aer Lingus pilots and management set for talks

AER LINGUS management and its pilots enter talks at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) on Monday, with both more determined than ever not to compromise over the conditions for workers at the airline’s new Belfast base.

According to sources close to the parties, there has been a clash of personalities in the talks that extends beyond differences simply between the company and the pilots.

IMPACT trade union and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) are supposed to be working on the same side of the table. However, it is understood there are divisions behind the scenes even between them.

The public service trade union is said to be unhappy that IALPA, which is one of IMPACT’s branches, embarked on the threat of strike action which could have grounded 45,000 passengers last week without first fully consulting it.

There are also straightforward personality tensions between representatives of the trade unions and the company which LRC chief Kieran Mulvey will have to fight through if he is to have any hope of gaining a resolution.

As for the arguments which have both sides so polarised, it is believed very little leeway was given on terms and conditions for the staff at the new Belfast hub in the few hours that they met during the week. Mr Mulvey has asked both sides to refrain from speaking to the media about the contents of those talks.

However, Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion has been adamant that the same “unsustainable legacy issues” that have permeated the airline’s human resources mechanism in the south will not be replicated north of the border.

“There can be no question of replicating such practices, simply because they already exist (in the Republic), within our Belfast base or any other future base,” he wrote to IALPA president Evan Cullen recently. “We will develop a relevant local model for our bases, and continue to challenge unsustainable legacy issues at home.”

The pilots though are equally unequivocal. The 48-hour strike was all set to go ahead last Tuesday and Wednesday and it was only when the company yielded to talks as late as Monday that IALPA made any reference to calling off its action.

IALPA is insisting that any pilots taken on in the north or who succeed in having themselves transferred to Belfast will have the same terms and conditions as exist south of the border.

Earlier this week, Michael Landers of IMPACT said his union was optimistic going into the LRC and that only if the talks failed would the issue of industrial action rise again.

However, unless there is a seismic shift from one of the sides, the talks will fail.

Pilots row: Terms and conditions

Q: WHY are Aer Lingus pilots adamant their Belfast colleagues get the same terms and conditions as those in Dublin?

A: There are major cost-saving measures coming soon for the airline. If inferior terms and conditions are introduced in Belfast pilots suspect similar cuts will be introduced here.

Q: Why does the airline not take the Belfast crews on with the same terms and conditions as pilots in the Republic?

A: Aer Lingus says it is offering competitive pay and conditions compared to the norm in the North. Its ability to implement what it describes as crucial cost-saving measures in the market, would be severely handicapped if it backed down.

Q: For how many pilots was IALPA and Aer Lingus prepared to ground 45,000 passengers last Monday and Tuesday?

A: 30.

Q: What will the starting pay-scale be for captains in Belfast?

A: €113,000.