Airline staff must wait to hear details of job cuts

AER LINGUS staff will not discover today as expected how many jobs the airline wants to outsource as part of a root-and-branch cost-saving drive.

The company had been expected to tell SIPTU it wants to replace up to 1,500 of its members, which includes baggage handlers, catering and check-in staff, with cheaper outsourced labour before the end of 2009. The union represents 1,900 ground staff in Cork, Dublin and Shannon.

Aer Lingus is trying to recoup €100 million in costs after posting an operating loss of €22.3m for the first half of the year, down from an operating profit of €2.6m a year earlier.

However, under this morning’s dialogue at the Labour Relations Commission, the airline is expected to only outline financial projections over the next year. The meetings are expected to contain few, if any, projections on staff numbers or savings plans.

Sources have indicated that if the talks proceed constructively with SIPTU this afternoon and with cabin crew representative IMPACT tomorrow, Aer Lingus will look at unveiling the figures next week.

The unions had been gearing up to hear the bad news this morning.

Over the weekend, SIPTU launched a campaign to expose what it described as the levels of gross exploitation of workers at Dublin Airport. It demanded a Registered Employment Agreement for the aviation industry “to enforce minimum standards and stop the denial of basic human rights that many workers experience on a daily basis.”

Workers in unionised employment, such as those at Aer Lingus, earn between 17% and 28% more in basic pay than workers in comparable jobs at non-union firms, such as those firms to which the airline wanted to outsource the jobs.

SIPTU said the basic monthly pay with average allowances in Aer Lingus is €2,235. The workers could expect a 10.375% contribution to their pension scheme and overtime rates of 1.5 to two times their salary.

In contrast, the union said temporary staff earned €1,700 monthly, had no pension and could expect a maximum overtime rate of 1.5 times their salary.

“The aim of the campaign is to promote best practice and to reverse the tide of bad employers driving out good ones...” said Aer Lingus branch organiser Teresa Hannick. “The bottom line for companies may be to generate as much profit as possible but it cannot be at an unacceptable and unsustainable social cost to employees.”