The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), a part of a bigger trade union, has sent word to its fellow crew members at Aer Lingus to carry out their regular duties amid the upcoming Saturday strike, while discouraging them from joining pickets or interacting with the media. Fórsa issued instructions to its over 1,000 strong cabin crew at the company, reassuring them that the pilots understand that the cabin crews’ obligations to continue their work as usual as they are not involved in the conflict.
The directions clearly stated that workers not involved in the strike ballot should continue functioning as usual, even if they need to cross a picket line. The guidance also advised them to come to work, and offer themselves for standby positions or other tasks if their scheduled flight gets cancelled.
The issued document, a Q&A style guide, urges against joining the pickets in a display of solidarity, directing members instead to visit Ialpa offices to convey their support personally. It also highlighted that media enquiries should be directed to the corporate or union press departments.
The guide further states, “The picket line will essentially comprise of pilots and Fórsa staff.” Cabin crew members may pay a visit to the Woodford office to express their support for the pilots, provided it doesn’t breach their work hours. A major stipulation is to avoid media interactions, in line with company policies, as cabin crew members are not implicated in the conflict. The guidance encourages redirecting all media inquiries to the Aer Lingus press office or the Fórsa main office.
The document clarified that employees will receive pay for their scheduled work if they follow regular reporting norms and if any alternate work assignment arises, they should request necessary training. The guide also included details on allowable shift changes and arrangements for personnel who may inadvertently have to stay overnight due to flight rearrangements or cancellations. Over 100 flights marked for Saturday have been cancelled by Aer Lingus. The guidance, in line with standard procedures during such conflicts, also advised members against taking on tasks typically performed by those on strike.
Besides Fórsa, who represents a substantial portion of middle management at the airline, Siptu, Unite, and Connect all have affiliates at Aer Lingus. None of these are directly implicated in the conflict. Siptu stated it hadn’t been approached with any specific demands from Ialpa up to Thursday, but stressed that its comrades would not act in a way that compromises the disagreement Ialpa is having with Aer Lingus. Unite and Connect, both of which stand for craft workers in engineering and other sectors of the business, merely stated that if a member expressed an inability to cross a picket line, they would be supported by the union. It was suggested by a union official that in instances where retaliation was exacted against a union member for refusing to cross a picket line connected to their direct involvement in industrial action, these cases are typically resolved in the eventual settlement.