Aer Lingus pilots balloted for action

Aer Lingus pilots are being balloted for all-out industrial action which could potentially see them on strike alongside their colleagues at Aer Arann.

The smaller airline was last night locked in talks with management in a bid to avert strike action next week over an ongoing pay dispute.

It emerged yesterday evening that the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) had started balloting pilots at Aer Lingus for action in solidarity with colleagues at Aer Arann.

The ballot is expected to take a number of days to complete, meaning that by its completion, Aer Arann pilots could either already be on strike or have resolved a dispute with management.

If the Aer Arann dispute continues and the Aer Lingus pilot ballot yields a result in favour of action, it would raise the prospect of tens of thousands of passengers being grounded for the duration of any stoppage.

Aer Arann pilots and management entered talks at 5pm last night in a bid to resolve their dispute over pay. The negotiations are an attempt to prevent industrial action, due to begin next week, which is expected to cause travel chaos for thousands of the airline’s passengers.

Pilots voted with an overwhelming majority in favour of industrial action against the company.

IALPA confirmed that 91% of members supported the action in a ballot on Monday.

At the time, Aer Arann, which operates regional services at Aer Lingus, described the move as “regrettable”, coming during the busiest time of the travel season.

Around 100 pilots are involved in the strike threat. They are calling for a reversal in cuts and some form of restoration after almost five years of frozen pay.

The pilots, who took a 10% pay cut in 2009, served strike notice last summer. But they withdrew their threat after the company agreed to enter a pay review process and take part in an independent pay tribunal.

Aer Arann has insisted it will review pilots’ pay when the company returns to profitability — which could be next year.

It claimed management and pilots reached agreement on a number of issues last year, including participation in the pay tribunal.

Last night RTÉ reported the contents of a memo it said had been issued to all staff by Aer Arann management yesterday.

In the memo, the airline warned that if the strike goes ahead, it faced the prospect of cancellation of its entire schedule, suspending certain flights, or running a limited schedule.

A spokeswoman for Aer Arann said she was unaware of the memo.