Aer Lingus employees to vote on industrial action

Employees at Aer Lingus will vote regarding a strike action in response to the carrier’s announced job cuts in its £58 million plan to cut costs.

Approximately 1,700 airline workers, represented by the SIPTU union, will decide by ballot whether to take industrial action regarding the 1,500 job cuts that the airline announced this week. In all, the Irish airline employs 4,000 staff.

If an industrial action does go ahead it is likely to mean many flight delays and cancellations.

The cost-cutting measures that management intends to put in place include outsourcing much of the carrier’s Dublin ground operations, such as baggage handling, passenger check-in and cargo handling. Cabin crew bases at both Heathrow and Shannon Airports would be closed as well.

It is also part of the plan to staff services based in Boston, New York and San Francisco with American workers.

Aer Lingus will be offering voluntary redundancy to its employees or the option to work for the third-party vendors to which the airline will outsource ground operations. IMPACT, the union representing the carrier’s staff, remains opposed to the job cuts. The trade union is also ruling out the outsourcing plan.

www.aerlingus.ie