Unions and management at Aer Lingus will attend the Labour Court again today in a fresh bid to resolve the pilots pay row.
It’s after an invitation arrived last Friday when Forsa was considering sanctioning an escalation of industrial action.
Both Aer Lingus and the pilots union IALPA, a sub-branch of Forsa, will both attend the Labour Court together this afternoon.
It’s a different situation compared to last Tuesday, when they held separate meetings with the disputes resolution body.
After those meetings, it ruled that it wasn’t in a position to intervene in the dispute between the two parties.
Aer Lingus pilots with IALPA are currently carrying out an indefinite work-to-rule, which has so far resulted in nearly 400 flights being cancelled by the airline.
Pilots had been looking for a near 24% increase as a result of accumulative inflation since 2019 – that demand has since moved to around 21%.
It claims senior executives in Aer Lingus have received an increase in payments of around 66% in that time frame.
Aer Lingus says it wants more productivity and flexibility in work practices for a pay rise above 12.25%.
Forsa says the situation at a critical stage, and the outcome of this process is crucial.
It adds that should it fail, there situation could be much worse than it is now, and there is a greater likelihood of escalating industrial action.
