Aer Lingus pilots to start work-to-rule next week as they refuse to work overtime

The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) notified the airline this afternoon that the work-to-rule will commence just after midnight next Wednesday. The work to rule will last indefinitely.

In a statement the union said the industrial action will involve:

• Not working overtime, or any other out of hours duties requested by management
• Only working the published rosters and not accepting or working any amendments to published rosters
• Not logging into the Aer Lingus portal or ‘e-crew’ outside of work hours
• Not answering phone calls outside of work hours.

IALPA President Captain Mark Tighe said: “We are now at a point where this dispute has escalated to indefinite industrial action by pilots.

“We are in this position because management have failed to provide us with a meaningful offer on pay that accounts for inflation and the sacrifices made by pilots to save Aer Lingus during the pandemic.

“Management keep insisting that pilots must sell their working conditions in exchange for any increase in pay. We are absolutely not prepared to do that, especially when Aer Lingus is making enormous profits.

“Our pay claim is for 24pc, which equates to inflation since our last pay rise in 2019. Aer Lingus have increased their profits by 400pc to €255 million last year.

“Our pay claim is entirely affordable, and Aer Lingus management need to quickly change position if they want to avoid this dispute escalating.”

In response, Aer Lingus described the industrial action as “entirely unnecessary” saying it “will inevitably result in significant disruption to our customers and to other employees”.

“Aer Lingus will do everything possible to minimise the disruption to customers, but unfortunately a significant level of disruption is inevitable,” the airline said this evening.

Almost 700 of the near-800 pilots at Aer Lingus are represented by Ialpa. Over the weekend, they voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action at the IAG-owned carrier. The pilots are seeking a pay increase of almost 24pc.

Aer Lingus has offered a 12.25pc pay increase, while last month the Labour Court recommended an interim increase of 9.25pc, which was rejected by the pilots. Last year an independent pilot-pay tribunal also recommended 12.25pc, plus a 1.5pc increase in unconsolidated pay.

Aer Lingus carries about 40,000 passengers a day during the busy summer period. About 14,000 of those are transatlantic customers and the remainder are on its short-haul services.

Its chief corporate affairs officer, Dónal Moriarty, said on Monday that there appears to be a “determined approach” by Ialpa to initiate industrial action.

A 24pc pay hike would mean the most senior captains at Aer Lingus would get a pay rise of almost €50,000, bringing their basic annual pay to €256,000.

When other elements such as long-service increments and flight pay are factored in, the most senior pilots could then earn as much as €349,000 a year. The most senior pilots receive a huge pension contribution from the carrier as part of that overall package, with up to 21pc of their salary contributed by Aer Lingus to their pension pots.

The union said on Monday that its pilots are now “more determined than ever” to secure their near 24pc pay claim. Such a pay award would cost the airline about €45m a year.

Ialpa says that Aer Lingus pilots haven’t had a pay increase since 2019. However, they have continued to move up the annual pay scales.

A pilot at the start of their captain career in Aer Lingus would have been earning a basic salary of €88,024 in 2019. Including flight pay, sector pay and pension contributions from the company of 21pc of their salary, the total package would have been €126,510.

By 2024, they’d be on a basic salary of €116,504 – a 32pc increase over 2019. Including other benefits, the total would currently be just under €161,000.

A co-pilot starting off in 2019 was on €66,359 in basic pay. By 2024, that’s risen to €102,076, which is 54pc increase. The total packages for such a pilot would be around €100,000 in 2019 and €143,000 today.

Aer Lingus has claimed a strike by pilots would cost it between €20m and €25m a day. That includes the cost of compensating passengers, re-routing them, and lost revenue.

While the pay increase sought by pilots is just about twice that amount on an annual basis, the airline would likely see thousands of other staff at the airline push for higher pay awards if the pilots were successful in their demands.

The pilot action will not affect Aer Lingus Regional services, which are operated by a separate company on a franchise basis. Aer Lingus Regional pilots agreed a pay deal earlier this year.

Earlier, Finance Minister Michael McGrath urged Aer Lingus management and unions to “get down around the table” for talks to avoid strikes.

He said discussions should take place as soon as possible to avoid travel chaos over the summer holiday season.

In a statement this evening, Aer Lingus said in advance of the industrial action it had written to the union warning that industrial action at this time of year would “cause very significant disruption and have a devastating impact on customers and their families going into the summer holiday season”.

“In that context, Aer Lingus asked Ialpa that advance notice of at least 15 days be provided. Such a level of notice which has been a norm where industrial action has been taken internationally in other airlines, would provide Aer Lingus with more opportunity to try to make alternative arrangements for a greater number of customers. Ialpa declined Aer Lingus’ request to give advance notice of at least 15 days,” the statement continued.

“With a view to avoiding industrial action, Aer Lingus offered to continue to engage in meaningful direct discussions on productivity and flexibility proposals to enable increased pay.

“Aer Lingus also offered to request the support of the Workplace Relations Commission in order to further explore solutions. Both of these offers were rejected by Ialpa.

“Profitability levels in Aer Lingus are the lowest in the IAG group with operating margin significantly lower than pre-Covid levels, making continued investment in the business by IAG challenging. Investment of such profits in paying exorbitant increases to already very well-paid pilots is simplistic in the extreme.”

The airline said Ialpa has “rejected the outcomes of two independent processes which have sought to resolve the issue, including a Pilot Pay Tribunal report which recommended a three-year pay deal similar to that which has been agreed by other employee groups. The Pilot Pay tribunal also recommended full restoration of pre-Covid pay scales, which was rejected by IALPA”.

It said the union had also rejected an interim Labour Court recommendation which would have further improved the pay position of pilots.

“Over and above the unnecessary disruption that this industrial action will cause to our customers, Ialpa’s failure to engage in the various independent processes in a responsible manner jeopardises our growth plans including our plans to fly to more destinations, to buy new, more sustainable aircraft, and to hire more people, including more pilots, to work at Aer Lingus.

“Aer Lingus will now turn its focus to doing everything possible to minimise the impact of the disruption to our customers.”