Aer Lingus industrial action looming

The trade union Impact, which represents cabin crew staff within Aer Lingus have announced that they are balloting its members to decide whether to take industrial actions due to the implementation of an agreed solution between the airline company, the trade union and its staff members last March. If the ballot is in favour of this action, travellers departing and arriving from all Irish airports may find themselves in the midst of another industrial dispute. Actions that may be use are a work to rule method or even strike action.

The source of the ballot is that Impact feel the way Aer Lingus are implementing an agreement on staff working 850 flight hours per annum is unjust and that terms and conditions of existing contracts for no reason. They feel the agreement can be put in place without having to change any existing employee contracts. With 2010 already having seen strike action, and of the course the presence of the Icelandic ash cloud for a number of weeks, this will not be welcomed by any of the parties involved, and will definitely not be of benefit to anyone travelling to or from Ireland via Aer Lingus. It would be advised to look into insuring yourself against cancelled and disrupted flights if at all possible.