Aer Lingus cabin crew to work to rule

CABIN crew members at Aer Lingus who are part of Impact have served notice on management that a work to rule will begin on Wednesday next, although it is not expected that there will be any immediate disruption to passengers at Shannon.

The dispute centres on rostering and the means by which flying times would be increased to 850 hours per year.
In a statement, Aer Lingus criticised the decision by the union.
“It is regrettable that after a year of talks, two separate ballots and a binding arbitration process, Impact cabin crew have yet again chosen to threaten Aer Lingus customers with industrial action.”
Aer Lingus claimed that the union has reneged on an early agreement.
“The Impact cabin crew have already voted 93% in favour of the change programme and committed to achieving specific productivity improvements. In recent weeks, the company has engaged with Impact as part of a technical group to give effect to these agreed productivity improvements. Through its insistence on certain preconditions before this group could carry out its work, the trade union has effectively sought to re-negotiate issues, which had already been the subject of binding arbitration.
“Aer Lingus will now consider all the available options and will continue to implement the changes required to reach the agreed productivity savings. The company will do everything in its power to ensure that our customers’ travel plans are not disrupted by this latest threat from the Impact cabin crew.”