Aer Lingus jobs Dublin bound?

REPRESENTATIVES of Shannon-based Aer Lingus maintenance workers are due to meet CEO Christoph Mueller before the weekend, amid fears that the maintenance base will be transferred to Dublin with possible job losses.

Seventy staff are employed at the Shannon facility and reports emerged early this week that the board of Aer Lingus is to discuss the transfer of the maintenance operation at their meeting on Friday.
In a statement to The Clare Champion, the company refused to disclose any information.
“We are discussing matters with our employees currently and will not be making any public statements,” was the response.
During the week, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar met with senior figures within Aer Lingus and afterwards he said Aer Lingus is in negotiations that could actually bring more jobs to Shannon.
“This is a commercial negotiation so nothing is 100% certain. But if the deal is concluded, the jobs in Shannon will be secure and in fact there’ll actually be a nett increase in aviation maintenance jobs in Shannon and Dublin.”
Following these comments, there was speculation that a deal may be done with Transaero Engineering, the company that was launched by Taoiseach Enda Kenny last week.
Clare TD Pat Breen said he is concerned about the situation. “This threat to transfer the maintenance business has been hanging over the future of the Aer Lingus facility at Shannon Airport since early 2010 when the airline signed a 20-year lease for Hangar 6 in Dublin Airport, which can accommodate six or eight A320s. I expressed the view at that stage that the airline’s strategic plan was to develop a transatlantic hub at Dublin and centralise their entire operation, including their maintenance base, there.”
He was critical of Aer Lingus’ communication with its workers. “This renewed threat to the Aer Lingus maintenance facility at Shannon Airport came to light through the media and I have spoken to quite a number of staff working there since then and they are very annoyed at the manner in which this news broke.
“In my view this was an appalling way for the airline to treat their loyal, highly skilled employees and they deserved better. Given the media speculation, I understand that the CEO Christoph Mueller has agreed to meet with the staff today (Thursday).
“However, this meeting should have taken place long before any of this speculation hit the airwaves. For many of the workers, moving to Dublin is quite simply not an option, they are already in negative equity and the manner in which this matter has been handled by Aer Lingus has caused a lot of upset and stress for the workers and their families.”
He asked that board members reflect on the implications for staff of moving the maintenance base to Dublin and defer any decision to allow for engagement with the workers.
His Fine Gael colleague, Deputy Joe Carey said he had spoken to Mr Varadkar, who he claimed was batting for the Shannon workers.
“I met with Minister Varadkar and he has spoken to the chairman of the board and the Government appointed members and conveyed that there are serious concerns regarding the loss of jobs.”
He claimed Mr Varadkar had shown more concern for Shannon-based workers than previous transport ministers.
With regard to the possibility of Aer Lingus actually bringing more jobs to the Mid-West, Deputy Carey said the minister had told him that commercially sensitive talks were taking place that “need time and space”.
Like Deputy Breen, he said it was important that workers be kept informed.
While Deputy Carey praised Mr Varadkar for his approach, Fianna Fбil’s Timmy Dooley had a different view.
“I will be seeking to raise this issue with Minister Varadkar in the Dбil this week and the wider issue of the Government’s approach to Shannon Airport. The minister has missed his own deadlines already in bringing forward a strategy for the airport and has bizarrely said that Knock is likely to overtake Shannon in terms of passenger numbers in the years ahead although the numbers don’t stack up.
“The proposal to transfer Aer Lingus maintenance from Shannon goes against the Government’s own strategy, or what should be their strategy, to grow the airport and secure its future for the region,” he concluded.