Aer Lingus pilots overwhelmingly reject pay proposals

Pilots at Aer Lingus who are members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) have voted overwhelmingly to reject an interim Labour Court recommendation aimed at resolving a pay dispute at the airline.

The court recommended that the pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement of the long-running dispute.

The figure is well below the 23.8% that the pilots had been seeking.

The executive of IALPA rejected the plan but the union said it would put the proposals to a ballot of members with a recommendation of rejection.

Ballot results show that 94.4% of members voted against the plan on a turnout of just under 98%.

Last week, Aer Lingus said it had lost the opportunity to secure a new Airbus aircraft for a second time, because of the ongoing pilots pay dispute.

It follows a decision earlier this year by the airline’s parent, IAG, to allocate the first of the new aircraft due for delivery to another group airline because of the uncertainty around costs at Aer Lingus arising from the row.

A second aircraft is due for delivery from manufacturer Airbus later in the year, but a decision had to be made last week on the colours it is to be painted.

“Aer Lingus was unable to give IAG the confidence it needed in our cost structure, resulting in the inaugural A321 XLR – originally planned for Aer Lingus – being allocated elsewhere in the group,” the airline said in a statement.

No more A321XLRs are due for delivery this year, with four expected next year.

Aer Lingus said it noted the outcome of the ballot rejecting the interim recommendation issued by the Labour Court.

“Notwithstanding the rejection of the Labour Court recommendation, Aer Lingus remains available for direct discussions with IALPA,” a spokesperson said.

Captain Mark Tighe, President of IALPA, said the association remains open for talks with Aer Lingus to negotiate an improved pay offer.

“Any new pay deal needs to account for the loss of real earnings due to inflation and to bring Aer Lingus pilots’ pay up to the rates of competitor airlines,” Captain Tighe said.