Aer Lingus jobs to move to Dublin

SOME 57 jobs are to go from Shannon as Aer Lingus maintenance workers have agreed to accept a proposal from the LRC, which will facilitate the airline’s decision to move maintenance operations to Dublin.
It is understood the ballot of Unite members passed quite comprehensively.
Aer Lingus machinery has been moved out of the hangar in Shannon this week and work has been greatly scaled down.
Under the agreement, there will be around 13 positions ­remaining at Shannon, with the other 57 going to Dublin.
However, there will not be compulsory redundancies and workers will be given a chance to work in Dublin for a period of time before making a final decision on their future.
If they decide not to move to Dublin on a permanent basis, they will still be able to avail of a redundancy package.
It’s understood that TransAero are set to take over the hangar that has been used by Aer Lingus.
Some workers are also speaking to the airline and may take up employment with the company, who are expected to bring hundreds of jobs to Shannon, starting in 2013.
It’s also believed TransAero is looking at some alternative sites to locate a second hangar.
Unite official Brian Gormley said while the decision to move the work from Shannon is disappointing, there have been concessions to the workers.
“The company have moved way beyond where they intended and we got it over the line on the basis that the company realised they had to make a special arrangement, given the circumstances.”
He confirmed there are a number of options available to the workers.
“There were a number of options. You could go straight away, you could agree to work the roster with some of your work in Shannon and the majority of it in Dublin for a period of up to two years and you could still take your package at that point and leave.
“There was some alleviation for the cost of going up and down to Dublin for a period of seven years so there were some specific things in it.”
He said the employees would have a chance to see what they think of working in Dublin before making a final decision. “At least the lads have a couple of years to finally make up their minds whether they can face the road to Dublin or whether they want to leave Aer Lingus and they’ll still get the same package. They can go anytime between now and the next 24 months, which probably gives them some options.”