When pilots at Aer Lingus vote on proposals later this month to end their pay dispute, the announcement will be watched closely by the airline’s management as well as passengers planning to travel in the busy August period.
But developments will also be carefully observed by other staff at the company.
In the case of Aer Lingus, unions say it is not a question of whether any award to pilots outside of the norm could have knock-on implications, but rather that internal agreements provide expressly for such a scenario.
It is not that this will necessarily lead to further industrial trouble at the airline. Instead, it is likely that any conclusion to the pilots’ dispute will spark the beginning of a new industrial relations cycle in which other groups may try to make up what they see as lost ground.
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Trade union Siptu represents about 1,200 workers at Aer Lingus involved in guest services, baggage handling, aircraft loading and cleaning among other roles.
Siptu aviation sector organiser Niall Phillips said that it concluded a three-year deal with the airline in late 2022 under which staff will receive 12.25 per cent pay rise.
He said the agreement contained a provision to allow Siptu to go back to the table should another group in the company receive a higher-percentage award without any offsetting measures.
It is understood that cabin crew have a similar arrangement.
Under the Labour Court recommendation, pilots would receive increases of 17.75 per cent running until July 2026. Philips said if pilots accepted the proposals, the group of unions at Aer Lingus, which also include Fórsa and Connect, would meet and decide on what to do next.
As a headline figure, the pilots would seem to have been offered more than other groups received in their agreements with the airline.
However, a number of industrial relations practitioners point out that there are different timescales involved. Deals with Siptu members as well as with cabin crew run to the end of 2025. The pilots’ proposals extend into 2026.
Some maintain that on an annualised basis there is not much difference between the increases envisaged between the groups. But the deals are not completely identical. Phillips said the Siptu members were scheduled to receive 1.5 per cent – or €750 – in October but that this is non-recurring or pensionable. For pilots, a 1.5 per cent increase proposed for October is recurring.
The timing of the proposed settlement to the pilots’ dispute could help avert any immediate action by groups looking for similar arrangements. One figure in the industrial relations world who has long experience of the aviation sector said “the arc of post-Covid settlements” in that area was drawing to a close, with pilots being virtually the final group outstanding.
In addition to being the parent organisation of the pilots’ union Ialpa, Fórsa also represents cabin crew at Aer Lingus. It has negotiated a deal worth 12.25 per cent to the end of 2025 with improved credits, commission and a one-off tax-free voucher payment in the mix this year. The union has also concluded a new collective agreement with the Irish Aviation Authority.
Some sources have suggested that in the normal course of events talks on successor agreements would begin next year and these could be a vehicle for dealing with any catch-up claims.
[ The Irish Times view on the Aer Lingus pilots dispute: time to call a haltOpens in new window ]
Some long-time figures in the industrial relations world said cabin crew and other groups were watching with interest developments involving pilots.
“The post-Covid industrial relations may be at a point where things are beginning to settle. But on the other hand things can become unsettled very quickly and it would be foolish to assume all will be well in the longer terms,” said one source.
But what about any impact of the 17.75 per cent pay proposal for pilots in the wider economy? Just like the case in the airline itself, few watch the outcomes of industrial disputes more closely than other trade unions. An award outside of the norm secured by a group with significant leverage can frequently become a target for others in the same sector or with the same employer to emulate.
The Government, in particular because it is the largest single employer, has for years been concerned about “contagion” in its industrial relations dealings in the public service. Since 2010 it has sought to negotiate collectively with all public service unions on pay. In 2016, when gardaí secured a €50 million deal following a dispute, it threatened to upend the whole public service agreement then in place. The then government quickly provided a €1,000 pay rise to others on the State payroll earning up to €65,000 in a bid to keep afloat the overarching accord.
So is there now a danger that the deal on offer to pilots could spark off a winter of industrial unease as other workers seek to secure improved terms? Prof Michael O’Doherty of the department of law at Maynooth University, an expert in industrial relations, says it is important to note that Aer Lingus is a private sector company. He says that strikes in Ireland are relatively uncommon and large-scale stoppages in the private sector even more rare. While it is possible that there could be some knock-on claims, it could well be that individuals privately approach their employer seeking more money or just switch jobs, he says.
Prof O’Doherty says there are large industries in the private sector where any dispute could be high profile and damaging, such as the technology or pharmaceutical sectors. However, he says, in these sectors the workers do not tend to be unionised.
In the highly-unionised public service, trade unions last year negotiated a 10.25 per cent pay deal which runs until June 2026. Public service union figures believe that this deal will “hold its value” given the reduction in inflation. But there are those who believe the Labour Court recommendation for pilots could – and should – represent a new benchmark for pay rises.
“At a time when profits have reached record highs and wages have generally been held down below the rate of inflation, I think the Government, employers and the corporate media were strongly opposed to the pilots’ 24 per cent wage claim for fear of contagion,” said Socialist Party TD Mick Barry.
“Even if the 17.75 per cent proposal is accepted, it still has the potential to set a new headline rate and show that union militancy can pay. Other airport workers will want similar increases and outside the airport workers’ sights can be raised on the pay issues. And that’s no bad thing in my view.”
Owen Reidy, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), said it has recommended to its affiliated organisations in the private sector that they should seek pay rises in the range of 4 to 6 per cent, where affordable. He said this would see workers this year receiving increases that would keep them ahead of inflation. However, he maintained that prices were not coming down, just not rising as fast as previously.
Neil McDonnell, chief executive of business group Isme, said on the basis of how the Labour Court recommendation on Aer Lingus was structured he did not think there would be any widespread fallout. He said if there were to be any knock-on implications it could be in businesses that were profitable and competing for key staff.
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