In pursuit of more than 20% in wage increases, pilots of Aer Lingus might announce an industrial action or potential strike today. Formal procedures, inclusive of dispute committee creation, should be finished today by the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) members, preparing them to serve the formal strike notice. An expectation prevails that the Aer Lingus division of the Ialpa is likely to take action soon and communicate the next phase by the end of the day.
Although a minimum advance notice of seven days is mandated by Ialpa, for any such action, it is understood that the time frame may be extended to 15 days upon Aer Lingus’ request. The Ialpa might opt for one-day strikes, which would effectively stall the airline operations for the while, or lesser disruptive actions that could still potentially lead to cancellations or reschedules during a crucial period.
The notice could result in members taking action by the end of this month, or possibly delay it until early July, which is a peak travel season. The Aer Lingus section of Ialpa was expected to get approval from the services and enterprise committee of the union for taking industrial action last evening, followed by the constitution of a dispute committee today morning.
The strike vote was overwhelmingly supported in a ballot on Monday, following which the attitude on both ends have reportedly toughened. The situation worsened particularly when the airline raised questions about the genuineness of the digital vote for the action held last week by the union. In response, the union held a traditional paper vote over the weekend, which revealed 660 proponents of the action among the pilots who participated.
The possibility of the airline’s first strike in over two decades has been increasing since last month, when pilots voted against a 9.25% pay rise as part of a Labour Court agreement. The disagreement has been escalating since the earlier part of the year, when an 8.5% increment proposal from an internal company remuneration tribunal was declined by the pilots. The issue remains unresolved despite repeated intervention attempts by the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court.