Minister urges Aer Lingus pilots to accept pay recommendation

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has urged Aer Lingus pilots to accept a Labour Court recommendation for a 17.75 per cent pay increase in a bid to resolve the industrial dispute.

Aer Lingus has accepted the recommendation, which was given after days of engagement moderated by the court.

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

The airline said the industrial relations dispute had been “enormously damaging both financially and reputationally”.

Mr Burke said he would “absolutely” urge the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association’s (Ialpa) executive to recommend that its members accept the offer “because we have to move on to the next chapter”.

“We need obviously cool heads now, I would really appeal that we get this resolved,” he said on RTÉ Radio.

“As an island economy, and for so many vulnerable sectors that really require connectivity to be at a premium over the summer months ahead, we really need to ensure that this dispute is resolved now.”

Speaking on his way into Cabinet, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he hoped the offer was a signal of “positive momentum”.

“It looks to me like everybody really worked intensively on this, and I really do welcome that,” he said.

“I’ve said from the start, the only way you (resolve) industrial relations is through engagement and through compromise. (We) certainly have the engagement, and it looks to me like we now have compromise.

“I don’t think it would be helpful for me to tell any side what to do. I fully respect the idea that unions obviously have to engage with their own members, but I really do hope this is positive momentum.”

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, affecting thousands of holidaymakers’ plans, amid the industrial action by pilots over a pay demand that they said is linked to an increase in the cost of living.

The pilots’ industrial action involves an indefinite work-to-rule, which began at the end of June, and an eight-hour strike on one Saturday amid the busy summer period.

Ialpa, a branch of the Forsa trade union, said it would continue its work-to-rule action while it sought clarifications from the Labour Court on the recommendations.

The association would then vote on the proposals; it had previously rejected a Labour Court recommendation for pay increases of 9 per cent.

It said its executive would meet within 24 hours before a ballot was prepared for members.

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

But Ialpa later said it would be willing to consider a lower pay increase.