LRC expected to intervene in Aer Lingus dispute

THE Labour Relations Commission is expected to intervene in the Aer Lingus dispute over the weekend.

Sources have indicated they believe the LRC will have success in getting the sides round the table at least once before next Tuesday.

Aer Lingus yesterday suspended two more of its pilots and remained on course to ground the remainder — along with thousands of passengers — from next Tuesday for refusing to co-operate with the selection and training of pilots for the airline’s new Belfast base.

There have now been seven official suspensions in the last three days and the threat to the rest of the airline’s 480 Dublin-based pilots remains as real as ever.

Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion has given them until 1pm next Monday in which to contact the airline’s head of operations at Dublin Airport and confirm they will comply with any request from the company to help recruit, train and fly with the new Belfast pilots ahead of the first flight from the new hub on December 10. Failure to confirm their willingness will lead to indefinite suspension commencing at 3am on Tuesday morning.

It is expected the pilots’ union, the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, will reply on behalf of all its members on Monday and that reply will reiterate the fact they will not cooperate with the Belfast base under the current terms and conditions being offered by Aer Lingus.

With just five days to go until the entire fleet could conceivably be grounded, Aer Lingus is still refusing to say what contingency plans it will pursue. It said, as far as it is concerned, the flights will operate as normal because the pilots will confirm their willingness to do their jobs as requested. One of the problems with formulating any contingency is that suspensions will be indefinite, so the airline cannot legislate for how many crews it will need and for how long.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus has replied to a request from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC )for a breakdown of its position.

The LRC is fast becoming the last port of call which could possibly find common ground between the two sides in time to avert a breakdown of service. Two months ago when the pilots threatened to ground themselves with a 48 hour strike, it was only the 11th hour intervention of the LRC which kept planes in the air. That dispute still cost the airline €3.5 million in lost revenue and fees for leasing crews and craft.

The difficulty with repeating that feat of conciliation is that, in the interim, both sides have become even more entrenched.