Responding to this morning’s announcement from Aer Lingus that they will seek to cut 6% of their workforce, Labour’s transport spokesperson Ciarán Ahern has called on the airline to engage meaningfully with the workers and their unions.
The Dublin South-West TD has stated that job losses should be avoided if possible and that if redundancies are absolutely necessary, then the “hard work and dedication” of Aer Lingus workers should be recognised with a fair and collectively negotiated exit package.
Ahern said, “this morning’s announcement that 500 jobs could be at risk will without doubt have caused a lot of anxiety.”
“It’s vitally important that the company gives clarity to workers as soon as possible,” he stated.
“The priority for Aer Lingus must be to protect and retain as many jobs as possible. I would encourage all workers to reach out to their respective unions – Fórsa, SIPTU and the IALPA – and I am calling on Aer Lingus to engage meaningfully with them. We cannot allow a situation to arise where workers and their representatives are stonewalled by the company, as we’ve seen recently with the likes of Covalen.”
The Labour TD said “Aer Lingus is our national airline and they should be held to the highest standards in terms of workers rights and fairness throughout this process.”
“If it is the case that redundancies cannot be avoided, the company must co-operate with unions to deliver a fair, collective and genuinely consultative redundancy process, and engage constructively with the State’s industrial relations bodies. Workers who may be made redundant should be recognised for their hard work, their skills and their loyalty with a good exit package that is benchmarked against established norms.”
“This will be a very uncertain time for workers at Aer Lingus and their families. Every effort must be made to avoid job losses, but if redundancies are unavoidable, Aer Lingus must give assurances that they will engage with workers and their unions in good faith sooner rather than later.”