Aer Lingus says it will operate a skeleton European service using hired aircraft next week (21, 22 August) if planned strikes by its flight crews take place.
The Irish carrier”s chief executive, Dermot Mannion, wrote to trade union Impact, representing 480 Aer Lingus pilots and received a reply this morning, although its contents have not yet been divulged.
The two day walk-out will see Aer Lingus” flight schedules severely disrupted, but the carrier says it will operate certain services from Dublin to Amsterdam, Manchester, Malaga and Faro and from Cork and Shannon to Heathrow.
The pilots are angry at what they say are the lower rates of pay applicable at Aer Lingus” new Belfast base in comparison with those at Dublin and Cork.
Impact says it is willing to have discussions with the airline under the guidance of the Labour Relations Commission, but a strongly-worded statement from the carrier had some strong words to say about its flight deck personnel.
”Aer Lingus is angry and disappointed that pilots would choose to attack customers in an act of self-centred brinkmanship,” it said, adding: ”The Labour Court recommended that the company be allowed to open new bases outside the Republic on local pay and conditions.
”In calling this unwarranted strike action, the pilots are directly ignoring those specific recommendations [and] this cynical attempt to use the new base as a veto on essential progress towards competitiveness, is unacceptable and deeply regrettable.”
Impact says that that Aer Lingus has advertised pilot jobs in Belfast at what it terms ”lower pay and worse terms and conditions, than those of pilots based in Dublin and Cork. The problem has been that the airline has refused to engage with us and pushed ahead to establish a base in Belfast, with complete disregard to its obligations under collective agreements,” it noted.
Unsurprisingly Aer Lingus disagrees with Impact, maintaining that it will pay salaries based on what is competitive for the market. ”Aer Lingus will pay competitive market rates in line with market legislation in Northern Ireland,” a spokeswoman told ABTN from Dublin.
The hired aircraft will be on a wet-lease basis.