AER LINGUS has said it is taking the prospect of industrial action by cabin crew very seriously and is developing contingency plans to deal with every eventuality.
Cabin crew at the airline have said that from August 25th, they will revert to operating working arrangements which were in place before changes being implemented unilaterally by management last month.
This could involve cabin crew on some routes taking 30-minute breaks free from duty, which were abolished as part of the changes.
The union Impact has said that under changes to rosters and working arrangements imposed unilaterally by the airline, cabin crew staff are working longer hours and have lost out on breaks and rest periods.
At a press briefing yesterday, Impact official Christina Carney said the union would be communicating with members on precisely what would be involved in reverting to the arrangements which were in previously in place.
She said one example would be if cabin crew were operating the London route or if they carried out a Paris and Amsterdam flight on the same day, that they would be entitled to a 30-minute break free from duty.
The vice-chairwoman of the Impact cabin crew branch, Zita Wall, said that under the new roster arrangements introduced last month by Aer Lingus, she could start work at 5am and finish at 3pm, possibly making two trips to London, without being allowed to take a meal break.
“I have to wait until I actually finish my day’s work before I can sit down and even have a cup of tea,” she said.
“I can do six or seven days of this duty and I can also mix that in with the Atlantic, and it can get to the stage where I don’t know whether I am supposed to eat or whether I should be in bed or vice versa.
“When I come home I am into home and family life, and trying to get the work-life balance is extremely difficult.
“I am not afraid of change – since 2002 we have done at least five cost-cutting programmes.”
Ms Wall added that the situation had worsened since the introduction by the company of new rosters last month.
She said she could do early shifts or late shifts and was not guaranteed to have her two days off together.
She also said that previously under the former rosters, staff were allocated a time to sit down and have something to eat.
The current row between cabin crew and Aer Lingus management centres how the terms of a controversial €97 million cost-saving programme, agreed earlier this year, will be implemented.
As part of this deal, the number of hours spent by cabin crew in the air – known as block hours or flight hours – is to be increased to 850 per annum.
Aer Lingus has maintained that the changes it introduced last month to traditional rules governing issues, such as time off between flights and break periods, were necessary to allow for all cabin crew to be rostered in such a way that they operate the new 850 flight or block hour requirement.
Impact has contended that the changes introduced by the company went far beyond the terms agreed as part of the new cost-saving programme.
Aer Lingus sources maintained that while some cabin crew were adhering to the 850-flight hour requirement, others were working only between 400 and 500 hours per annum.
Impact yesterday said that all full-time cabin crew were operating the 850-hour requirement, and that only those who were part- time were at the 400 to 500-hour level.
Aer Lingus has rejected criticisms that it had jumped the gun by introducing the new rosters before an arbitration process had been completed.