Minister urges Aer Lingus cabin crew not to strike tomorrow

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has said he can see no reason for the Aer Lingus cabin crew strike to go ahead.

“This is a dispute about rosters and it should be resolved bilaterally in talks between the unions and management,” Mr Varadkar said of the 24-hour strike tomorrow by some 1,000 cabin crew.

Independent TD Clare Daly said that "Aer Lingus has at the eleventh hour invited the unions in to talks". But the company had "consistently refused to engage with its staff over three years. It has refused to attend the Labour Court on six successive occasions and indeed, the court has written to say it is flagrantly ignoring its recommendations."

She claimed the issue was an attempt to beat the staff into submission and break the union. Ms Daly also accused the company of “engaging in vicious intimidation” of workers.

But Mr Varadkar said it appeared Ms Daly “has only heard one side of the story, that of the unions” and she should “listen to both sides”.

The Minister said “the impacts on citizens who want to travel this weekend and on the economy are negative”. The dispute should be resolved bilaterally in talks between the unions and management. “I see no reason that the strike should not be called off. If for some reason the parties can’t agree bilaterally, they should go to the LRC [Labour Relations Commission].” He called on the company to make use of the LRC and for Aer Lingus and Irish Rail workers to go along with the recommendations of the Labour Court.