A row has erupted among unions at Dublin Airport over representation on the new Dublin Airport authority which took over from Aer Rianta yesterday, writes Emmet Oliver.

Staff at the airport are entitled to four worker director positions on the new authority but securing agreement on the best way to allocate the board seats has proven difficult. Union sources said it was unsatisfactory that the authority was now running the airport without any union input.

Talks brokered by ICTU have so far failed to find a solution to the problem and yesterday SIPTU's airport branch released a statement denouncing the hold-up in selecting representatives.

Mr Barry Nevin, SIPTU's civil aviation branch president, said his union wanted to withdraw from ICTU's airport group, which comprises the various unions at the airport.

"Our participation in the ICTU airport group is of absolutely no benefit to the thousands of members we represent. Staff assocations at Dublin Airport, who represent less than 15 per cent of the workforce, are demanding three of the four worker director positions," said Mr Nevin.

He called on the new Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, to instruct the Dublin Airport authority to conduct an immediate ballot for the four worker director positions. He said this was Mr Cullen's legal right under the State Airports Act passed earlier this year.

Mr Arthur Hall, regional secretary with the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union, one of the smaller unions at the airport, said Mr Nevin's statement was unhelpful in the current climate.

"Delicate negotiations are taking place at the highest level and this intervention will do nothing to advance the chances of an agreement," he said.