Industrial action due at Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus staff will stage a two-hour work stoppage as the pension dispute at the airline escalates, unions have said.

The carrier will be served with notice of industrial action, which will happen from 10am on Nov 19. Cabin crew and ground, clerical, and administration staff will take part.

Four unions — Siptu, Unite, TEEU, and Mandate — said disruption to passengers would be solely due to the decision of Aer Lingus to stop talking to staff representatives about their future retirement incomes.

“There will be no disruption on Nov 19 if Aer Lingus management agrees to re-enter the negotiations and attend hearings at the Labour Court,” they said.

Aer Lingus said it will not attend the Labour Court, but was available for talks through the Labour Relations Commission.

The dispute centres on the Irish airlines superannuation scheme (IASS), a pension pot for Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport Authority staff that is in deficit by almost €750m.

Industrial troubleshooters were forced to indefinitely adjourn negotiations with the airline last week when the parties failed to reach agreement on the amount offered by the carrier.

Discussions with DAA are continuing and are expected back before the LRC.

Meanwhile, the airlines’s airline’s application to release €500m from its capital reserves so as to pay dividends to shareholders has been adjourned to Dec 11.

In July, Mr Justice Roderick Murphy refused to sanction the €500m reduction sought unless Aer Lingus provided for potential legal claims resulting from a deficit in the pension fund, stated in court to be €930m.

Shortfalls in the pension schemes appeared to constitute a contingent future claim against Aer Lingus, he said. The proposed cut in capital reserves from almost €860m to about €360m was “substantially below” the level of the funds’ shortfall, the judge noted.

While the Aer Lingus group was entitled to seek a reduction in capital, the matter must be addressed in the context of Section 73 of the Companies Act dealing with entitlements of creditors, he said.

Brendan Frawley, a solicitor and Aer Lingus pensioner, said the decision on the application had been interpreted a number of ways and he wanted to hand into court a statement outlining his interpretation. He was concerned the matter was “dragging on”.

Paul Sreenan SC, for Aer Lingus, said he considered Mr Frawley had no legal standing, as the beneficiaries of the scheme, including Mr Frawley, were represented by the trustees. Counsel said he agreed there were different interpretations of the court’s decision but the matter should be adjourned.

The judge said the trustees were the people charged with the matter but Mr Frawley could attend court again on Dec 11 and the other parties were entitled to see his submissions.