Getting Aer Lingus back on course

The aviation pensions row is complex, but there may be light on the horizon, says Stephen Rogers.

A SIMPLE example of the bewildering complexity of the aviation pensions dispute is that Aer Lingus staff may have to be balloted both as workers and as shareholders on whether they accept an expert panel-proposed solution to the impasse.

Many workers are shareholders through the involvement they had in employee share ownership trust. Therefore they, along with major shareholders such as the Government and Ryanair, will have to cast a vote on whether they agree the airline should pay in excess of €150m to a defined contribution scheme to replace the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme, which is over €750m in deficit.