Aer Lingus pilots stage eight-hour work stoppage

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Pilots held banners as they marched at Dublin Airport on Saturday morning

BBC

Hundreds of striking Aer Lingus pilots have marched at Dublin Airport as part of an ongoing dispute with the airline over pay.

The eight-hour strike began at 05:00 local time and ended at 13:00.

The pilots, in full uniform, passed the airline’s head office before setting up a picket line at the entrance to the airport.

Aer Lingus has cancelled 120 flights on Saturday with up to 17,000 passengers affected.

The Irish Airline Pilots' Association (Ialpa) previously called for a 24% pay rise for members, and pilots began a work-to-rule on Wednesday.

Ialpa president Captain Mark Tighe said the strike action demonstrated "that they mean business".

"Our passengers are extremely important to us and unlike managers we meet them every day.

"This is not what we want, but we are left in a situation created by management whereby we are just exercising the same rights as everybody else in this country has," he told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

Hundreds of Aer Lingus pilots march at Dublin Airport amid eight-hour strike
Union and company are due to return to Labour Court on Monday with almost 400 flights already canceled

Barry O'Halloran
Sat Jun 29 2024 - 

Some 500 Aer Lingus pilots marched in the rain around Dublin Airport on Saturday as their trade union president warned the company to accept that their pay demands were reasonable ahead of Labour Court hearings on their dispute.

Most members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) at the company gathered in full uniform at the Aer Lingus head office shortly after beginning an eight-hour strike at 5am to march around both Dublin Airport’s terminals to a picket line.

Pilots halted work on Saturday morning, stepping an ongoing industrial action that began this week in pursuit of a long-running pay claim. Aer Lingus has cancelled hundreds of flights in response “to protect as many services as possible”.

Saturday’s turnout hit 500 from around the Republic, out of a full pilot crew of 766, according to union estimates. Those who were not there were out of the State or unable to show up for reasons including rules requiring pilots to rest between flying.

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Speaking on the picket line, Ialpa president Capt Mark Tighe declared the number “pitching up on a soft Irish summer’s morning like this” spoke volumes for pilots’ confidence in their pay claim.

[ Aer Lingus pilots are unlikely revolution leaders but wages will have to rise for social peace ]

Ialpa, part of trade union Fórsa, is seeking an increase of more than 20 per cent. Capt Tighe noted the union had moderated its stance significantly through 22 months of talks with Aer Lingus, including at negotiations that broke down on Thursday.

Pilots say their demand will cost the company less than €5 million extra a year, but Aer Lingus argues the figure is closer to €40 million.

The union and company are due at the Labour Court on Monday in a fresh bid to resolve the row, which has prompted the airline to cancel almost 400 flights, including 120 as a result of Saturday’s strike.

“We now look to the company and the Labour Court to acknowledge the reasonableness of our claim,” Capt Tighe said.

He added that the union hoped next week’s move to the court would resolve the dispute.

The striking pilots gathered before 6am for the action. Photograph: Fintan Clarke

The Labour Court invited both sides on Friday as the dispute neared a critical stage, with Ialpa preparing to step up its industrial action following the failure of Thursday’s talks.

A Fórsa dispute committee, whose approval was needed before the pilots escalated their industrial action, met on Friday but adjourned after the organisation received the Labour Court’s invitation.


Union members have been on a strict work to rule since Wednesday, severely curtailing flexibility and limiting Aer Lingus’s ability to fly its full holiday schedule.

That measure and Saturday’s stoppage forced the airline to cancel 392 flights up to Sunday, July 7th, hitting an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 passengers.

Monday will be the third time the dispute has gone to the Labour Court. Most recently, Aer Lingus and Ialpa met the court separately on Tuesday, but that intervention failed to resolve the row.

Aer Lingus accused Ialpa of damaging the airline’s finances and reputation and apologised to passengers hit by Saturday’s strike.

The company welcomed the Labour Court’s intervention, adding it hoped that “Monday’s engagement in the court can result in an outcome that will bring normality back to the travelling public”.

Airline pilots are really silage contractors of the sky

In the olden days, the pilot was worshipped - just like the farmer. One was a hero of the sky, the other a god on the ground, writes Farming columnist Denis Lehane in this week's Lighten Up

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SAT, 29 JUN, 2024 - 
DENIS LEHANE

IRISH EXAMINER


Flying a plane is no joke. Granted it isn't as hard as catching a ram, flipping him over and tending to his feet for foot rot. But it's tough enough too.

A good friend of mine, a pilot for many years, recently gave up the job to take up a role with the AI world.

He told me over a pint that he is much happier now when he's serving a cow than flying a jet plane to Timbuctoo.

"With the cow and AI straw, you know where you stand. With a plane load of anxious people, it's really all up in the air," he said.

My friend had flown planes all over the world, over a long and illustrious career.

Rarely did he crash, and more seldom was he late for work.

To my mind, he was one of the best.

He is known to one and all as Murty.

"But surely Murty, you miss the rumble of the engine and the screeching of the brakes?" I asked.

"Not a bit of it!" he roared back.

"They should never have gotten rid of the hot air balloon. The hot air balloon got everyone everywhere without half the fuss. The plane was a step in the wrong direction if you ask me," he said.

"The problem with flying nowadays is that everyone expects to get to their destination in one piece.

"Safety has become a priority," he moaned. "It's P.C. gone mad."

He was talking sense, of course. It's a pity there aren't more like him.

But safety aside, I wondered if flying was a handy number.

Murty wouldn't hear of it. Murty maintains that pilots nowadays are no better off than teenagers working for a silage contractor over the summer months.

"At least the teenager can take his girlfriend along for a spin, a pilot can do no such thing.

"Romance at high altitude is frowned upon.

"'Tis no wonder pilots go on strike and 'tis no wonder I'm still single," he spluttered.

Murty believes there is too much red tape in flying nowadays.

"Piloting a plane is almost as bad as farming, with the height of cross-checks needed," he said.

"However, at least a pilot won't get shot down suddenly with a letter from the department stating that the Single Farm Payment will be delayed."

And fair play to Murty; he got that one right.

"With silage contacting," he went on, "Even at peak season, once the dew comes down, the stopper is pulled, and everyone can go for a pint.

"When piloting a plane, the dew fall has little bearing on proceedings. Indeed, sometimes it can only add to the confusion."

And as for going for a pint? Well, Murty had to laugh. "It's usually a case of being too late to get a jar after you land and too early to go for one before you depart again.

"It's a catch-22," he stated. "You are damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

But it wasn't always this bad, as Murty recalls.

"I remember a time when flying a plane was like steering a cattle truck into an empty mart yard. "You could back in wherever you damn well pleased and offload to your heart's content.

"Out would come the cigarettes," he recalled, "and nobody would chastise you for smoking too near the fuselage.

"Nowadays,'" he said. "Flying a plane into a busy airport is like dropping a sheep into a dipping tank. Your time is limited. You know the next one is up your behind.

"I remember," says he, "In the olden days, the pilot was worshipped - just like the farmer. One was a hero of the sky, the other a god on the ground.

"Both were respected for the tremendous work they did and admired for the courage they displayed.

"Nowadays, the world is full of cynics, with everyone believing they know more about the job than the professional themselves.