Aer Lingus Claims Planned Crew Strikes Are "Reckless"

Aer Lingus has called the strikes planned by its cabin crew for next week as "reckless and “unwarranted". In a letter sent yesterday to the trade union IMPACT, which represents the cabin crew, the airline urged an immediate withdrawal of the notice of the work stoppages, which are planned to take place on Monday 16 June and Wednesday 18 June respectively.   Aer Lingus accused IMPACT of deliberately distorting its position in talks last week to create a contrived basis for announcing further industrial action. The firm asserted that IMPACT had incorrectly suggested management had abandoned talks last week which were aimed at resolving a disagreement over rosters.   More than 60,000 people may have their travel plans disrupted in the event of the strikes coming to pass.   About 28,000 people were affected by a strike at Aer Lingus by cabin crew in late May as part of the disagreement over rosters.   The letter sent by Aer Lingus to IMPACT yesterday followed correspondence sent by the trade union to the airline on Friday in which it accused management of not negotiating in good faith.   Cabin crew are seeking the introduction of a revised roster arrangement – five days on, followed by three days off – much like that in place for pilots at the airline.