Union to hold talks with Aer Lingus

SIPTU has secured a meeting with Aer Lingus next Monday at which the union will demand the company explain its decision to impose a pay freeze on its 3,700 staff.

Aer Lingus is refusing to give workers a 7.5% pay increase due to them under both the social partnership agreement Towards 2016 and annual increments unless staff accept a cost-saving package. This would see restrictions in overtime, pay scales, holiday entitlements and tighter rostering. According to SIPTU it will hit workers in their pay packets by as much as €5,000.

On Monday, the union will ask why, unlike thousands of other employers, Aer Lingus feels it can ignore national pay agreements by implementing the pay freeze. It will also reiterate its resilience not to be bullied into accepting the cost-saving package.