Cabin crew outsourcing is a disgrace

The story that Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller is to shut down the cabin crew base at Shannon, and outsource the jobs, should revolt decent people.

The airline boss did not have the courage to face his own employees and, instead, dispatched his lieutenants, the deputy chief executive and the head of the cabin crew department to deliver the bad news to the loyal workers at Shannon.

Having failed to seek a resolution through the normal industrial channels, and having chosen not to utilise the state mechanisms, such as the Labour Relations Commission, Aer Lingus have opted to close the base and outsource the work. Aer Lingus is not the cash-strapped company it once was and has been returned to profitability largely on the backs and sacrifices made by its workers.