Aer Lingus workers back industrial action

Aer Lingus workers tonight voted in favour of industrial action if the Government presses ahead with plans to sell-off some of the state airline.

Around 94% of 2,100 members of the SIPTU union voted for a possible strike.

SIPTU’s national industrial secretary, Michael Halpenny, said it was evidence of workers’ determination to defend their job security and conditions of employment if management push through privatisation without addressing concerns.

“We will now seek sanction for industrial action from our National Executive Council – following which it is our intention to serve notice on the airline to be effected in the event of any unilateral action by them,” he said.

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has insisted part-privatisation was the best way forward for the company.

Mr Halpenny said: “We have attempted to honour our promise to the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, on meaningful engagement with the airline and have detailed the concerns of our members to management.

“Regrettably to date, there has been an absence of meaningful engagement on the part of management and so we are no further on than we were four weeks ago.

“We are still awaiting the further meeting which the minister promised the unions before he proceeded to Government for a final decision.”

SIPTU, which represents mainly ground staff, clerical workers, cleaners and a small number of cabin crew at the airline, said the Government should not make any final decision before an All-Party Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport meets over the proposed sale on April 6.

“It is ironic in the extreme that in the same week that there has been so much talk from many quarters on the merits of privatising Aer Lingus that two of our leading economists have publicly called for the re-nationalisation of eircom - such was the mess that was made of its privatisation,” Mr Halpenny said.

“We should learn from past mistakes and not put the interests of the community and the employees at risk for what – on the basis of experience – may well be a failed venture.”