Workers to meet Aer Lingus boss to determine future

REPRESENTATIVES of workers at the Aer Lingus maintenance base are due to meet the company’s chief executive Christoph Mueller on Tuesday morning in a meeting, which could decide whether they remain in Shannon or are moved to Dublin.
The company has already been presented with a document from workers, which it is believed points to savings of in the region of €1.5 million.
The workers came up with the proposals following threats to move approximately 70 jobs to Dublin.
Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, Brian Gormley of the Unite Trade Union, which represents many of the workers, said the proposals would maintain current levels of pay and wouldn’t involve any compulsory redundancies.
“There is potential for a few reductions, with people who would be very close to retirement. Staff have already undergone pay cuts across the board,” he said.
Mr Gormley said the workers had put together a very worthwhile document, which it is thought will match the levels of savings being sought by Aer Lingus. He also said that accepting it would allow Aer Lingus to retain the expertise of the Shannon workers, who perform more skilled work than what’s currently being done in Dublin.
He said there was very little enthusiasm among the members for a transfer. “Nobody wants to move to Dublin, there might be one or two that could be persuaded but there’s very little interest.”
Clare TD Joe Carey said he was hopeful Aer Lingus management would reach a satisfactory agreement with the workers. “When we met with them last week, they gave us an undertaking that they would enter talks with an open mind and I hope they will give the workers’ proposal very serious consideration,” he claimed.
The Shannon workers first heard about the possible impending transfer of their jobs through the media, something that caused local anger. While the company haven’t made any public statements about their plans over the last few weeks, there has been interaction with workers representatives and local politicians.