Aer Arann in talks to avert strike

Aer Arann and its pilots entered talks last night in a bid to avert the strike that threatens regional air services in Ireland and Britain over four days next week.

The airline’s pilots served strike notice on the company earlier this week after independently chaired pay talks failed.

The strike would lead to cancellation of Aer Lingus’s regional services, in Ireland and Britain, which Aer Arann operates under a franchise deal.The airline confirmed that talks between its “management and pilot representatives commenced this evening at 5pm”.

Resolve differences
Last month, an independent tribunal, chaired by Kevin Foley of the Labour Relations Commission, failed to resolve the differences between the two sides.

The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association said the company had unilaterally attempted to impose pre-conditions on the tribunal, including a refusal to review pay until next year.

The union claimed that was in breach of the original agreement to establish the tribunal, which arose out of a dispute in July 2012.

Pay at the airline has been frozen since 2009. The company has said that it will review pay once it returns to profitability, which it does not expect to happened until next year at the earliest.