Aer Lingus sides reach agreement in dispute

AFTER 15 months of accusation and counter-accusation, the last three weeks of which have seen hundreds of flights cancelled and thousands of passengers grounded, Aer Lingus management and cabin crew finally appear to have ended their rostering dispute.

A fourth marathon session under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) finally saw a breakthrough in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The two sides have reached “virtually” full agreement on how cabin crew members’ annual flying time will be increased to 850 hours. Remaining outstanding issues will now be the subject of binding arbitration by the officials from the LRC. That means the two sides will be bound by whatever recommendation emerges from the LRC within the next few days.