Mediator calls for meeting with Aer Lingus and unions

AER Lingus and staff unions will return to the National Implementation Body (NIB) this morning hoping the mediator has found some sort of formula which might avert two days of strike action next week.

It was unclear last night whether the NIB was calling the meeting to seek further information from Aer Lingus and its 1,800 SIPTU members on their positions on the airline’s €20 million Programme for Continuous Improvement 2007 document, whether it had formulated a recommendation based on a meeting held almost two weeks’ ago or whether it was making a fresh intervention in light of the distinct possibility of industrial action grounding up to 40,000 passengers next Tuesday and Friday.

This morning’s meeting comes 24 hours after embattled Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion faced a mass walkout from the first staff briefing session in Dublin Airport aimed at dissuading the SIPTU members from embarking on the disruptive action.