The threat of strike action at Dublin airport next month appeared to recede today after the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Siptu agreed to an LRC process for discussing the pension dispute.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) today said it was satisfied with talks the two sides held at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) over the issue of staff pensions.
Thousands of passengers travelling through Dublin airport next month had faced the prospect of serious disruption due to planned industrial action by Siptu, which claims the pension fund at DAA is not sufficiently financed.
Speaking after today's talks at the LRC, however, the DAA stated that agreement to discuss pension issues over the next three months removes the threat of disruption for passengers.
In a statement on the talks, the LRC noted that the authority and Siptu separately committed to discussing other issues over a six-month time frame.
The trade union had said the action - including mandatory meetings for staff, overtime bans and a work-to-rule - would be staged early next month if the DAA did not provide reasonable improvements to the pensions of staff before the end of June.
Siptu said trustees of the fund had refused to sanction indexation increases recently, and that although the company had offered to invest €30 million into the fund it had sought to link this with the implementation 27 work practice changes.
Earlier this month, Siptu said the staff involved in any action would include personnel who operate passenger security clearing areas as well as those involved in emergency services at Dublin airport.
The union said it would provide emergency cover for the periods of the industrial action, but Siptu sources accepted that the action was likely to lead to significant disruption and could even lead to closure of Dublin airport for periods.
