Servisair workers accept deal

The threat of serious disruption at Dublin Airport during the peak Christmas holiday period has ended with the acceptance by …

The threat of serious disruption at Dublin Airport during the peak Christmas holiday period has ended with the acceptance by 250 Servisair employees of comprehensive new flexibility guidelines based on the merging of baggage-handling and freight operations.

The package, proposed by the Labour Relations Commission after more than 15 hours of talks on Friday, was adopted by a six-to-one majority of the 250 SIPTU workers in Servisair at a meeting on Saturday.

The meeting coincided with the granting of a temporary injunction by the High Court preventing the disputing workers from disrupting Aer Rianta's operations or trespassing on the State-owned company's property at Dublin Airport.

Servisair workers are to get a £300 payment for acceptance of the package, according to the union's assistant branch secretary, Mr Dermot O'Loughlin.

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Instead of the 13 redundancies sought by the company, no more than 10 employees will be let go, all on a strictly voluntary severance basis. Those opting for redundancy will be entitled to four weeks for each year of service plus statutory entitlements.

A statement from Servisair following the general meeting of workers said the company was pleased its staff had agreed to the proposals for increased flexibility and added that normal working would have resumed from the first shift yesterday.