Pilots at freight specialist ASL Aviation Holdings are voting on industrial action in a dispute over trade union recognition, it has emerged.
Swords-based ASL operates airlines in Ireland, Belgium, France and the UK, as well as Africa, Asia and Australia.
Trade union the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) confirmed on Thursday that it is balloting its 90 members at ASL on industrial action, up to and including a strike, in pursuit of recognition and a collective bargaining agreement.
“This dispute arises from ASL’s refusal to engage with Ialpa in order to negotiate a collective labour agreement for its pilots,” its statement said. “It follows sustained efforts by the union to establish a formal engagement framework with the airline.”
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Pilots began voting on Thursday and the ballot will continue until November 7th, the union noted.
ASL Aviation Holdings declined to comment.
According to Ialpa vice-president Daniel Langan, the union repeatedly tried to engage ASL management in talks, but was met with silence.
He dubbed its refusal to meet the union as “unacceptable and contrary to the principles of good industrial relations”.
“Pilots at ASL want what their colleagues at other airlines already have,” he said. “That is, a transparent system for negotiating terms and conditions through their chosen representative body.”
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The union said it wrote several times to the company this month pointing out that a majority of pilots working for ASL Ireland were members.
Ialpa also told management that pilots had lost confidence in ASL’s own employee representative systems.
Mr Langan said on Thursday that the ballot reflected members’ frustration and determination to secure recognition. Ialpa represents more than nine out of 10 pilots at the operation.
ASL flies cargo services for parcel delivery businesses and online retailers. It also has its own scheduled cargo services. Globally, it employs more than 2,000 people.
Meanwhile, a strike by cabin crew at Aer Lingus’s UK base in Manchester began on Thursday. Their trade union, Unite, is seeking pay and allowance increases for members, whose earnings it says lag behind those of their Irish counterparts.
A number of transatlantic flights were impacted but Aer Lingus said it had managed to reaccommodate most passengers.
About 4,000 customers will be disrupted if the strike continues as planned through to Sunday. Unite plans further stoppages next month that are likely to affect around 7,500 passengers.
