26 April 2008

Aer Lingus Ground Staff say "No" to Changes

Aer Lingus ground staff have rejected the airline's new € 10 million costcutting proposals for a second time yesterday. The 1800 staff represented by SIPTU have already voted to take industrial action if the management attempts to implement the reforms without union agreement.

A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said that they would consider their position over the coming days. The airline has spent the last 15 months trying to secure € 20 milliom in staff cost savings, and has already done deals with pilots and cabin crew.

A flexibility and mobility deal for 1800 ground staff represented by SIPTU would have delivered "productivity changes" (what ever that means in proper English), including earlier start times, roster changes and transfers between different kinds of work. There would have been no pay cuts or compulsory redundancies under the plan.

However, staff emphatically rejected those proposals a month ago. Local negotiations and clarifications were followed by a re-ballot, but yesterday afternoon it emerged that staff have again said a clear no to these changes.
Under SIPTU's rules, even if there is an overall majority in favour of acceptance, if any one of the 14 sections - no matter how small - rejects the proposal, it is deemed to be rejected by all.

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