Aer Lingus accepts Labour Court recommendation of 17.75% pay rise for pilots

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Updated at 17:47

Aer Lingus said they have accepted the Labour Court recommendation to raise pay for pilots by 17.75 per cent.

It comes amid a high-profile industrial relations dispute which has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations.

In a statement released this evening, the airline said: " We have reviewed the final recommendation of the Labour Court and decided to accept it.

"The airline will have to consider the longer-term implications of implementing the recommendation and of this dispute which has been enormously damaging both financially and reputationally.

"Aer Lingus encourages Fórsa / IALPA and pilots to accept the recommendation of the Labour Court and end their industrial action.

"We would like to thank the Labour Court for its work in issuing both its interim and final recommendations."

If implemented, the pay deal would cover a four-year period from January 1st 2023 to the end of 2026.

The pilots had initially been seeking a pay increase of 24 per cent, which they say equates to inflation since the last pay rise in 2019.

However, Ialpa later said that it would be willing to consider a lower pay increase.

But it accused Aer Lingus of not making a similar compromise to move from its offer of 12.25 per cent, without requests for pilots to improve productivity.

The pilots’ group also rejected a previous interim Labour Court recommendation for pay increases of 9.25 per cent last month.

Aer Lingus has cancelled hundreds of flights during the pilots’ indefinite work-to-rule, which began at the end of June, in an effort to protect services from the “highly disruptive” industrial action.