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AER LINGUS WILL soon lock horns with a consortium of trade unions that is pushing the airline to share its multimillion-euro profits with workers.
Employee representatives Siptu, Fórsa, Connect and Unite have been collaborating on the campaign through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
The group – which collectively represent thousands of Aer Lingus ground staff, middle managers, cabin crew and engineers – has called on the airline to roll out a profit-sharing scheme following a pay deal negotiated last year.
A Fórsa spokesman confirmed that a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) meeting on the matter is due to take place on Tuesday, 17 July.
“The facilitated discussions are to explore the potential of profit share and its effects on pay determination,” he told Fora.
Last year, Aer Lingus agreed to give staff a gradual 8.5% pay increase between 1 April 2017 and 1 June 2019 following a Labour Court recommendation.
The court also instructed the parties to engage in discussions ”without prejudice” to explore the potential introduction of a profit-sharing scheme.
Aer Lingus – which was bought by British Airways owner IAG in 2015 – recorded an operating profit of €269 million in 2017, an increase of €36 million on the previous 12-month period.
A spokeswoman for the airline said the parties involved “reached a comprehensive pay deal” last year and that the Labour Court recommendation was accepted by way of secret ballot by airline employees.
There are two further elements to the agreement, a productivity agenda and also exploring the potential of a gain-share model. Both are the subject of ongoing discussions which are anticipated to continue for some time,” she said.
Fora understands that some workers are unhappy with Aer Lingus’s intention to explore a gain-share scheme instead of a profit-sharing programme, as recommended by the Labour Court.
Both incentives would award employees financial bonuses, but the gain-sharing model is tied to specific improvements in staff performance, such as hitting certain sales targets and increasing productivity.
The profit-sharing model is dependent on the company’s financial performance.
WRC meeting
According to correspondence seen by Fora, Aer Lingus management and the group of trade unions attended an initial WRC conciliation conference at the end of May.
Writing to workers at the time, ICTU industrial officer Liam Berney said the meeting was adjourned and Aer Lingus was requested to return “with a view to making an offer to address the unions’ claim” for a profit-sharing programme. The next meeting is due to take place on 17 July.
Berney said the consortium used the meeting to “emphasise the need for an agreement that gave workers in Aer Lingus a share of the profit earned by the company in recent years”.
Fórsa has previously stated that a profit-sharing scheme “should be put in place as a way of recognising and rewarding workers’ contributions to the success of the company” following the recession.
In the Labour Court last year, Aer Lingus said that although a pay freeze was put in place in 2010, staff had received average gain-share payments of around €1,500 annually in the years after. It said it also paid a “stabilisation payment” of €1,800.
A number of changes have occurred in recent months at Aer Lingus. In February, it was accused of trying to “overhaul and decimate” legacy contracts with long-serving staff after the carrier moved customer complaints jobs from Dublin to the US.
It also set in motion plans to potentially move dozens of IT jobs away from Dublin and offshore.
The airline was brought before the WRC in May over a decision to enlist a third-party firm to handle the return of items lost on aircraft and in its Dublin Airport lounge.
Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie
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Trade Unions played a pivotal role in the collapse of this economy 10 years ago. Have we not learned any lessons?
@Brian O’Leary: it was the bankers and regulators.
@David Dickson:
True, but there is plenty of blame to go around.
@David Dickson: the banks and politicians where also responsible but alot of other groups played a large part including the unions
@Brian O’Leary: No but FAS sure did is there any sign of Fas being reimbursed for the losses it occurred !
@Brian O’Leary: Yes, absolutely, how dare companies, who make huge profits not share that wealth with the back bone of the company it’s workers, absolute disgrace, it was the nurses going on strike looking for better pay and conditions that played a pivotal role in the collapse of the economy, certainly wasn’t the banks, if it was, it only played a small role.
@Brian O’Leary: benchmarking, partnership agreements etc all driven by the unions in one direction up. It made the public sector the best paid and argueably least efficient in Europe.
8% pay rise and now profit share union greed alive and well
@Brian O’Leary: And the Irish economy is centrally controlled by a consortium of Lizard People. I said it on the internet so it must be true, yes?
@Brian O’Leary: No they didn’t. It was a banking issue caused what the former head f the Fed politely called “irrational exuberance “
And when the airline goes through a period of decline and profits are hit will the employees take a pay cut to support the company through the rough time? I always thought a share of the profits was the wage packet I.e. a job!
@Steve Smith: “I always thought a share of the profits was the wage packet I.e. a jib!”…tell that to the managers and execs who get perks, bonuses, share options, free shares and pension top ups.
What’s wrong with “Gain Sharing” – why hold a company in a cyclic industry to ransom with potential stoppages. Would they accept a pay cut if or when the company made a loss, fuel prices went up, exchange rates presented losses, trade wars diminished load factors ?
if the workers want a share of the profits then just buy shares in the company. You get all the profits and all of the losses but hey you can’t have your cake and eat it
The union bosses get free first class travel on all Arr Lingus flights with their families and stay in Aer Lingus hotels. I think it is only the head each Union. I say “All for one and One for all”. The boss of the union won’t give up his wages when he calls for strike action.
They should outlaw unions especially in the civil service and transport companies.
@Cranky: bs
Wtf is it with transport workers and strikes? Luas, bus, taxi, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, pilots, cabin crew…
@James Gorman: don’t forget the train drivers too James. All holding the country to ransom
@James Gorman: We should introduce legislation as in Italy.
Illegal to strike peak holiday seasons, Easter, Summer, Christmas etc.
Now there’s a challenge for a Transport Minister that might enhance the life of the Irish public.
@Declan Moran: “Holding the country to ransom” = “I disagree with their politics”. The only rational explanation for why this magical phrase is never applied to companies which threaten to move abroad and take their jobs with them any time there’s the threat of a tax hike.
Try to check in at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 with AerLingus’ it’s now all automotive and a nightmare.
Best paid PS workers in Europe during the bust…
Dammit I just booked an Aer Lingus flight to avoid strikes at Ryanair. Can’t they wait and take turns acting like *****.
have your say