Strike threat as Aer Lingus pension talks collapse

Aer Lingus is once again facing disruptive action by cabin and ground crew after talks on the ailing pension scheme it shares with Dublin Airport Authority collapsed at the Labour Relations Commission.

For weeks, Aer Lingus passengers have been living with the possibly of strikes by Siptu over the lack of progress in talks on resolving the €750m deficit in the pension scheme.

However, this time it is not just Siptu’s mainly ground crew who could embark on disruptive action in November.

The collapse in talks means cabin crew represented by the Impact union will meet with Siptu next week to, as Impact sources put it, “discuss co-ordinating industrial action campaigns to force a settlement”.

The union’s members have already voted 93% in favour of action in the event that employers “fail to ensure that the Irish aviation superannuation scheme [IASS] is adequately funded in a manner which is agreed to by the majority of members”.

Unions said the talks collapsed after the Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey said the gap between the two sides was too great.

The Impact source said Aer Lingus was proposing that workers accept “haircuts” of over 40% on their expected pension benefits and had “rejected reasonable calls from unions that this be shared equitably between the parties”.

ICTU asked that the matter to be referred to the Labour Court but was told the airline was not prepared for that to happen.

However, Aer Lingus said the talks were “adjourned indefinitely” because they were “overshadowed and hampered by an interpretation by union groups that a proposal targeting “85% of final incomes” for members of the pension scheme has been agreed with the DAA.

“It has been confirmed to Aer Lingus directly by the DAA that the proposal under discussion with union groups does not target any such pension coverage level,” Aer Lingus said in a statement. “We encourage the union groups and the DAA to resume their discussions.”

The airline said it did not want to go to the Labour Court as it believed the LRC was the best place for resolution.

While Siptu has indicated its industrial action will happen in early November, all the Aer Lingus unions are due to meet next week under the mediation of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to discuss a response.

Aer Lingus has previously indicated it is prepared to set aside up to €100m as part of its attempts to bolster the ailing pension scheme. But it has stressed that money will only be made available with strict provisos including up to €54m in savings in return to be achieved through staff cost rationalisation.

It has also warned that, as it stands, existing workers will only receive 4% of their pension because retired members, by law, must be covered first.