Aer Lingus dispute escalates as pilots announce eight-hour outright strike next week
Pilots will take part in an eight-hour work stoppage next weekend in response to what they describe as "a campaign of antagonism" by Aer Lingus
Disputes have escalated further between Aer Lingus and its pilots as they have announced they will undertake an eight-hour work stoppage next week.
Pilots who are members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) announced this evening that they will go on strike from 5am to 1pm on Saturday, June 29. This is on top of pilots' work-to-rule industrial action due to commence on Wednesday, which means they will not fulfill duties outside of their scheduled work.
The announcement came just an hour after Aer Lingus announced that 124 flights would be cancelled from Wednesday to Sunday next week, meaning 20,000 customers will be affected. It is now expected many more passengers will be affected if Saturday's strike goes ahead.
READ MORE: Aer Lingus strike warning and how it could affect summer holidays - all you need to know
IALPA President Mark Tighe said pilots have been forced to escalate to an outright strike following “a campaign of antagonism by Aer Lingus management directed toward our members.” He added: "Aer Lingus’ legal representatives have also written to each member of the IALPA executive committee this week, in their personal capacities, threatening to issue proceedings in the High Court for alleged unlawful conduct regarding an alleged increase in pilot absence due to illness.
“IALPA refutes this allegation in the strongest terms. Aer Lingus has not sought any meetings since the notice of work-to-rule was served earlier this week. The company has made no effort to negotiate a settlement to avert action commencing on Wednesday."
In response to the strike announcement, Aer Lingus said it is "appalled" that the IALPA is "inflicting further pain on passengers". It said: "The company is appalled that IALPA would further escalate this industrial action, following the insidious action previously announced.
"IALPA's decision is clearly designed to inflict maximum damage on passenger’s travel plans at the peak of the holiday season. Aer Lingus will assess the impact of this notice of strike action and do everything we can to minimise the further disruption this will cause to passengers."
Before the eight-hour strike announcement, Aer Lingus released a list of the 124 cancelled flights on its website. The airline said it will get in touch with passengers from Friday and offer a refund or alternative booking. Some customers will also be automatically rebooked onto an alternative flight and will receive an email with the details.
In a statement released today, Aer Lingus said without cancelling these flights, customers would be more severely impacted. It said: “Twenty-four flights a day have been cancelled in the first five days on the industrial action - a total of 124 flights over those five days. This will impact approximately 4,000 customers per day and 20,000 customers over the course of the 5 days.
“The level of cancellations is currently at the lower end of the 10 per cent - 20 per cent range. However, given the form of the industrial action there may be additional cancellations which happen close to the time of travel.”
The airline added that it has automatically rebooked some customers onto alternative flights, and they will receive an email detailing the changes.
Ninety-nine per cent of Aer Lingus pilots represented by the Irish Air Line Pilots Association (IALP) voted for the strike after the company refused their demands for a 23.8 per cent pay increase, which they say equates to inflation since the last pay rise in 2019. Around a quarter of all IALPA members are on the top pay package of around €287,000, which includes the value of pensions and other benefits.
Aer Lingus has described the pay demand as unrealistic and said there have been no pay deals in Ireland that delivered such an increase. The airline has lambasted pilots for the strike, saying it is an “insidious form of industrial action” and it will “severely disrupt passengers in the peak of the summer season”.
Donal Moriarty, chief corporate affairs officer at Aer Lingus, said this form of industrial action "gets worse day by day" and there is a risk further cancellations will be needed. He added that Aer Lingus pilots are already paid "very well" and their salaries are "in line" with the market rates.
He told RTÉ Radio 1: "There is a pay deal on offer to them of a 12.25 per cent increase, which they've declined. We have also tried to discuss with them building upon that over and above 12.25 per cent by discussing improvements in productivity and flexibility, but unfortunately, Ialpa have been unwilling (to engage) with those discussions.”
IALPA president Mark Tighe said if Aer Lingus needs to cancel up to 20 per cent of flights because pilots won’t work on their day off, it means they have a shortage of pilots. He said: “The scale of next week’s anticipated flight cancellations, as described by Aer Lingus, illustrates the extent to which the company relies on the flexibility and goodwill of pilots.
“We go above and beyond to provide a good service to our customers. The company has recently enjoyed a 400 per cent increase in profits, which demonstrates how much the company benefits directly from that flexibility and goodwill. As always, IALPA remains open to talking with Aer Lingus in direct negotiations to settle this dispute in a way that fairly deals with pilots’ pay.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris has appealed to both parties to show “maturity” and resolve the dispute. He said: “Disputes only ever get resolved by engagement, that's how they always end up being resolved. The question for both parties now is, will they try and resolve it and show maturity in relation to this, or are they going to allow this to trundle on and then ultimately end up in talks.
"Talks need to happen. What I'm asking is now we shorten the protracted process and all the chaos that would ensue for people and actually get around the table quickly."
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) pleaded with all involved in the Aer Lingus pilots’ industrial action to resume negotiations and come to a swift resolution for consumers.
President Angela Walsh said: “Industrial action over the summer months causes serious impact for both holidaymakers and corporate travellers. The consumer is ultimately at the heart of this. We are in the busiest travel period of the year, with seriously damaging effects on both inbound and outbound tourism, the leisure holiday market, business travel and for family members flying to see their loved ones.”
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