Officials meet to discuss progress in Aer Lingus dispute

SIPTU officials will meet with Aer Lingus shop stewards this afternoon to establish whether the company and workers have made sufficient progress to stave off disruptive strike action at the airline.

Aer Lingus last week gave its 1,800 ground staff until today to agree to €10 million in cost-saving initiatives under its Programme for Continuous Improvement 2007 (PCI-07).

While the company has not confirmed it, preferring to remain silent in recent days, it is understood management has told staff that they will be taken off the payroll from tomorrow if they do not co-operate with the implementation of new rosters and working arrangements.