New rostering to pit Aer Lingus against staff

AER LINGUS and its staff are once again on a collision course, which could see the airline’s passengers facing the grounding of flights within days.

The airline is to implement new rosters on Monday, even though they have not been fully agreed with cabin crew. If staff refuse to work according to those rosters they face removal from the payroll. Such a move could precipitate an all-out strike by the rest of the cabin crew.

Management and the cabin crew have been embroiled in a dispute over rostering for a number of months. Since October the staff have engaged in a work-to-rule, albeit without impacting on any flights.

The two sides agree that the cabin crew annual block hours should be increased to 850. However, they cannot agree how that figure will be achieved. Yesterday, they met once again under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission but failed to find common ground on the sticking points in the new rosters introduced last year under the airline’s “Greenfield” cost-saving drive.

Correspondence exchanged in the hours before the talks did not contribute to a successful resolution. In a letter to individual cabin crew members dated January 12, Sean Murphy, the airline’s director of staff relations, said IMPACT trade union, which represents the cabin crew, had chosen to obstruct the implementation of the agreed productivity changes.

Therefore, he said, Aer Lingus would have to press ahead with the new rosters, including all necessary changes, from Monday “to protect the interests of the company, its shareholders, wider staff groups and our customers”.

Mr Murphy warned staff they have “We expect you to comply fully with all rosters published,” he said. “Failure to do so will put you in breach of your contract of employment. Aer Lingus will not accept staff refusing to carry out some or all of their contractual duties.

“A continued refusal will result in you being put off duty and removed from the payroll.”