Little headway made in Aer Lingus talks

THERE is unlikely to be any narrowing of the gulf between Aer Lingus and its pilots over the terms and conditions surrounding the employment of staff at the new Belfast base after talks yesterday failed to make any substantive headway.

Shortly before a delegation led by Aer Lingus chief Dermot Mannion and pilots’ unions the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) and IMPACT sat down at Aer Lingus headquarters, company executives made the decision not to inflame the situation by publishing the exact terms and conditions of employment in Belfast on the airline website. However, they will be published online tomorrow and the 1,100 applicants for the 100 posts can email the airline at any time to receive the details.

Michael Landers of IMPACT said following yesterday’s meeting: “I think it is progress that we are coming back and talking about this issue again. The week before last there was strike action in the offing. Now we are discussing the issues with the company and I think that is progress.”