Remaining Aer Lingus staff will be hit by sweeping cutbacks

AER Lingus staff remaining after the airline axes hundreds of staff will see their wages and conditions cut to the levels of lower cost rivals Ryanair and Easyjet.

The company is determined to recoup some of the €93m losses the airline has experienced this year. Company chairman Colm Barrington said the sweeping cutbacks will be across the airline and will see staff losing the “legacy payments and conditions built up over 70 years of state ownership when there was not the financial discipline that a PLC requires”.

Proof of the struggle Aer Lingus will have, in introducing sweeping cuts before Christmas, is evidenced by the fact pilots are currently taking the airline to court for failing to pay a wage increase to which they say they are entitled.

“We have not had significant pay cuts at Aer Lingus,” said Mr Barrington.

“I am not trying to reduce anybody’s pay because I like to do that. I am trying to get all Aer Lingus staff to work market conditions and at market rates because, if they don’t, we will not survive. We will be looking for pay cuts certainly.” Mr Barrington reiterated the airline’s difficult operating position was made clear on Thursday when Aer Lingus posted €93m losses for the first six months of this year.

“Our markets are very tough and our costs are very high. So we have significant problems. We do have a decent amount of cash in the bank so we can survive for the foreseeable future but, frankly, I am not prepared to have that cash dripped out on an ongoing basis. We have to do something radical to make Aer Lingus work properly.”

Mr Barrington told RTÉ he and the airline management had already been working, for several months, on a “plan for change” which they would share with new chief executive Christoph Mueller when he takes up his position on Tuesday. It has been speculated the plan seeks to reduce staff numbers by anywhere between 500 to 1,000 staff.

“Aer Lingus has probably got more people than it needs,” Mr Barrington conceded. “We are cutting back our transatlantic operations by 25% to reflect the market conditions.” He said workers had been subject to changes in work practices in recent months. But management did not feel staff had made enough changes because the airline had not got to where it needs to be.

“I hope the 3,000-plus employees in Aer Lingus will realise that if their jobs are to survive; if the airline is to survive; if the people who are on market rates and market conditions are to survive, they will have to make changes. We need to change immediately. I am frustrated we have not been able to implement them quickly.”

Following Mr Barrington’s comments, Michael Landers of IMPACT, which represents cabin crew, said his members had already suffered significant pay cuts. He accused the airline of trying to “soften staff up” by leaking the company’s intentions through the media.