Aer Lingus cabin crew vote in favour of agreement

Members of Impact trade union at Aer Lingus have voted in favour of the redundancy deal agreed at the Labour Relations Commission in November.

The move comes after the country's biggest trade union Siptu backed the agreement on Friday.

Impact had recommended the deal to its members on the basis that it would minimise job losses and keep the Shannon base open.

The vote was passed with 59 per cent of the union's 1,500 members in favour of the agreement and 41 per cent against.

The agreement, which was worked out between unions and Aer Lingus management in meetings last month, focussed on a "leave and return" scheme under which employees would receive a severance package and then be able to subsequently reapply for positions at the company on inferior terms and conditions.

Staff were also offered the option of leaving the company permanently under an early retirement or voluntary redundancy programme. Those remaining on existing terms and conditions would have work under a different work practice regime.

Overall Aer Lingus is seeking to generate savings of around €50 million on its payroll costs as part of its new reform programme.

This evening, management at Aer Lingus welcomed Impact's decision calling it a “milestone development” for the airline.