Siptu plans 'relentless' action at DAA and Aer Lingus over pensions

Siptu is planning a “relentless series of industrial action running through the summer and right into the autumn” at both Dublin Airport Authority and Aer Lingus, if there is no resolution to a three-year pensions dispute.

Following a meeting of Siptu’s national executive committee, its president Jack O’Connor said the union had tried diplomacy for the last three years, “but diplomacy obviously does not work”.

The union is facing legal actions by both firms following the March 14 strike which did not go ahead.

The Dublin Airport Authority secured a High Court injunction preventing action on that day.

Aer Lingus subsequently issued proceedings against Siptu seeking recovery of the losses it sustained due to the flight cancellations and aircraft hire.

The strike action had been planned by the union over the failure to address the near €800m deficit in the workers’ pension scheme, the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme. The trustees have proposed that members’ benefits be cut by 20% and the Labour Court has said the two companies should inject money into a new defined benefit scheme — €110m in the case of Aer Lingus and €50m from the DAA.

Siptu, which represents a large number of Aer Lingus ground crew as well as workers at the DAA, said the companies should increase their cash injection to cover the deficit.

The Government, Ibec, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have appointed an expert group to assess the situation. It is due to issue a progress report before the end of the month.

Mr O’Connor accused the DAA and Aer Lingus of “hiding behind legal actions to avoid dealing with the issue to hand”.

“We are going to see off these injunctions,” he said. “We are quite confident that our position will be upheld by the courts.

“Meanwhile if they decide to simply sit on their hands, we will end up with a relentless series of actions running through the summer and right into the autumn.”