AER LINGUS AND trade union Impact will attend talks at the at the Labour court this morning in an attempt to settle a long-running dispute over rosters.
Talks fell through on Friday after Impact, which is representing cabin crew workers, claimed management at Aer Lingus had offered them a ‘take it or leave it’ proposal.
However, the airline strenuously denied that talks had collapsed, stating it was willing to continue discussions.
Following several pleas from Minister for Transport for both parties to take advantage of the State’s industrial relations machinery, the parties will now meet at the Labour Relations Court (LRC) later this morning.
Public interest
The LRC, under legislation that allows the court to intervene in a case that is in the public interest, invited both parties to take part in talks.
However, strike action planned for later this month has not been called off, planned for June 16 and 18.
The dispute centres around rostering patterns for cabin crews.
They argue the current system does not give them adequate time for rest after long flights, and have pleaded for a system of five days on and three days off to be introduced.
The talks today have been welcomed by the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), who believe further strikes would “once again put unfair inconvenience and additional costs onto the consumers”.
CEO Pat Dawson said:
“We hope that both parties will enter the negotiations with an open mind and that they will work in unison to resolve this issue in a manner that is satisfactory for all involved.”
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