Labour Court intervenes in Aer Lingus dispute

The Labour Court has intervened in the Aer Lingus dispute, which saw the majority of flights cancelled today.

The Chairman of the Labour Court has invited both sides to talks on Monday at 10 a.m.

SIPTU has accused the airline of acting in bad faith towards its 3,000 clerical and operative staff.

SIPTU's Vice President Mr Jack O'Connor, said that late last year, senior management in the national airline had accepted that all staff had to be treated equitably on the issue of pay and productivity.

But he said that within weeks the company was insisting that some staff had to give productivity in return for pay increases while others did not.

The Minister for Enterprise Mrs O'Rourke is to be briefed next week on the worsening industrial climate at Aer Lingus.

All Aer Lingus flights departing from Ireland are grounded today as clerical and operative staff hold a one-day pay strike for the second consecutive week.

Over 160 flights were cancelled today, disrupting the travel plans of around 20,000 customers, the airline said. Around 500 workers staged pickets at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

The strike by the clerical and operative staff is over a perceived disparity in pay rates of different staff. The airline insists the current pay settlements are "fair and equitable" to each group of employees.