22 Jun 2024
Pilots who are members of Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) in Aer Lingus will take part in an eight-hour strike on 29 June.
The union served formal notice to Aer Lingus management this afternoon, informing the airline that pilots will strike from 5am to 1pm next Saturday.
IALPA had already served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule, which is due to commence at 00:01hrs next Wednesday 26 June.
Aer Lingus has said that 124 flights have been cancelled during the first five days of the industrial action by pilots, impacting 20,000 customers.
IALPA President Captain Mark Tighe said: "We have been forced to escalate this dispute following a campaign of antagonism by Aer Lingus management directed toward our members.
"Rather than meeting with IALPA for direct negotiations to resolve this dispute, the airline is sending letters to IALPA threatening to cut members' terms and conditions by unilaterally terminating collective agreements.
"Aer Lingus' legal representatives have also written to each member of the IALPA executive committee this week, in their personal capacities, threatening to issue proceedings in the High Court for alleged unlawful conduct regarding an alleged increase in pilot absence due to illness.
"IALPA refutes this allegation in the strongest terms.
The airline has condemned the strike action by IALPA, saying that it was "appalled" over the further escalation of industrial action.
In a statement, Aer Lingus said: "IALPA's decision is clearly designed to inflict maximum damage on passenger's travel plans at the peak of the holiday season.
It said that it will assess the impact of the strike action and do what it can to "minimise the further disruption this will cause to passengers".
In an earlier statement, Aer Lingus said that between Wednesday 26 June and Sunday 30 June, 24 flights a day will be cancelled, impacting 4,000 customers per day.
The flights that have been cancelled are: Short-haul Dublin - London Heathrow; Paris; Amsterdam; Lyons; Berlin; Birmingham; Brussels; Dusseldorf; Rome; Frankfurt; Geneva; Hamburg; Manchester; Munich; Vienna. Short-haul Cork - London Heathrow. Long-haul Dublin - JFK.
The airline said the level of cancellations is currently at the lower end of the 10% - 20% range that it had predicted.
"However, given the form of the industrial action there may be additional cancellations which happen close to the time of travel," the airline said.
"The insidious and indefinite form of IALPA's industrial action is designed to severely disrupt passengers in the peak of the summer season," it added.
"Aer Lingus has automatically rebooked some customers onto alternative flights and has begun emailing all other customers informing them of the cancellation and advising them of their options: to change their flight for free, to request a refund or to request a voucher."
Cpt Tighe said: "The scale of next week's anticipated flight cancellations, as described by Aer Lingus, illustrates the extent to which the company relies on the flexibility and goodwill of pilots.
"We go above and beyond to provide a good service to our customers. The company has recently enjoyed a 400% increase in profits, which demonstrates how much the company benefits directly from that flexibility and goodwill.
"As always, IALPA remains open to talking with Aer Lingus in direct negotiations to settle this dispute in a way that fairly deals with pilots' pay," he said.
'Disgraceful escalation'
Donal Moriarty, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Aer Lingus, has criticised the formal notice served by IAPA of the eight-hour strike in addition to the work-to-rule as a "disgraceful escalation" of its industrial action.
He accused IALPA of having "total disregard for Aer Lingus customers and the travelling public" this summer.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News, he said that the number of flights cancelled in addition to the 124 already announced during the first five days of the work-to-rule will be "significant" and the assessment is ongoing.
Mr Moriarty said there "absolutely" is a chance that both sides could enter arbitration this weekend if IALPA is willing to do so.
He said Aer Lingus has always been willing and available for meaningful discussions to resolve the dispute, but the union has "refused" to join it in the Labour Court and Workplace Relations Commission.
Yesterday, Aer Lingus said it will have to cancel between 10% and 20% of flights in the first five days of a work-to-rule by members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA).
IALPA has said that cancelling up to 20% of flights because its members will not come in on their days off raises serious questions about the management of the airline and points to a pilot shortage.
Aer Lingus has described the work-to-rule as insidious, and said it is implementing the cancellations in order to protect as many services as possible.
"Implementing these cancellations is to enable us to protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible," Aer Lingus said.
Customers scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July will be given the option to change their flights for free or cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher.
Aer Lingus pilots who are members of IALPA voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a dispute over pay.
The union served notice to Aer Lingus of an indefinite work-to-rule from next Wednesday, which will involve the pilots not working overtime or "any other out of hours duties requested by management".
It will also involve the pilots only working the published rosters and "not accepting or working any amendments to published rosters".
Pilots will not log into the Aer Lingus portal or 'e-crew' outside of work hours nor will they answer phone calls outside of work hours.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said it is unacceptable that the public should be subjected to pressure, stress and anxiety caused by the proposed disruption to Aer Lingus services from next week.
Speaking in Co Cork, Mr Martin said unions and management at Aer Lingus must put citizens' interests first.
"It is absolutely essential that both sides get around the table," he said. "There is good industrial relations machinery there.
"The Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court are there with very experienced people who can help to bring both sides together to resolve this."
The Tánaiste said he was calling on both sides to negotiate an end to their differences.
"It is unacceptable in my view that the industrial relations machinery of this state, which is quite sophisticated and has resolved many more intractable disputes, that that is not being used to the fullest to get this dispute resolved," he said.
Aer Lingus Regional flights, operated by Emerald Airlines, are unaffected by next week's industrial action and will operate as scheduled.
Meanwhile, the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has again called for all parties involved in the dispute to resume negotiations and come to a swift resolution for consumers.
"The ITAA is urging Aer Lingus and unions to reach a resolution. Industrial action over the summer months causes serious impact for both holidaymakers and corporate travellers, which we have seen with the cancellation of flights in advance of the indefinite period of work-to-rule which takes place from next Wednesday," said Angela Walsh, President of the ITAA.
"The consumer is ultimately at the heart of this."
"We are in the busiest travel period of the year, with seriously damaging effects on both inbound and outbound tourism, the leisure holiday market, business travel and for family members flying to see their loved ones."
"We are urging the airline and the pilots to put the consumer first in an effort to avoid such disruption to travel plans."