AER Lingus has dissociated itself from allegedly racist comments made by a union official representing airline staff following complaints by staff at JFK Airport in New York.
Aer Lingus's black staff members based in New York have also accused their Irish colleagues of racist behaviour.
The remark stems from a controversy over the airline staff being asked to stay in the Lucerne Hotel. Aer Lingus cabin crew refused to use the Lucerne, saying it was unsafe and located too close to Harlem. A strike has been threatened for February 5th.
"We are not racist, but it is very close to Harlem," a SIPTU official said. SIPTU yesterday issued and apology, saying it accepted the comment caused offence to colleagues in the US.
A letter signed by "some very upset staff from Aer Lingus" claimed the management had "decided to ignore the racial comment made by ... SIPTU officials, even though some of our staff have approached them and voiced their opinions".
Aer Lingus said it totally dissociated itself from any comments made in the context of the current dispute that would denigrate Harlem or its inhabitants in any way. The person who made the remark was not an airline employee, it said. "The comments carried in the media do not reflect the views of Aer Lingus, its staff or its management."
The letter signed by upset Aer Lingus staff stated: "It is a grave insult to some of us on this side of the Atlantic to read such bold comments made by SIPTU officials and then to have the nerve to say `we are not racist'. To put it bluntly, that was a very racist comment."
The letter continued: "We are losing our image as the friendly airline among our peers and being looked at as the airline of bigotry."
The staff criticised Aer Lingus for not taking "appropriate action" in reference to such a public display of inappropriate comments. "And most disturbing of all is that some of our fellow workers do not see anything wrong with such a statement," the letter added.
Staff at JFK also claim to have been subjected to racist remarks by their Irish colleagues. "Needless to say, we have our own bigots on this side of the Atlantic. Some of us non Irish workers are constantly at the receiving end from some passengers and in some cases from crew members," wrote the unnamed workers.