General Industry

Aer Lingus Facing Strike Action at Shannon Airport

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Aer Lingus Facing Strike Action at Shannon Airport

Aer Lingus is facing imminent industrial action in Shannon after a decision taken by the cabin crew branch of IMPACT. 

Staff will stage a 24-hour work stoppage on Friday, 30 May, beginning at a minute after midnight; they will place pickets at the airports in Shannon, Cork and Dublin for the duration of the disruption.

Michael Landers, an IMPACT official, said that cabin crew were ready to take immediate action because the airline had refused to engage on the rostering issue for a very long period of time: “Cabin crew have sought to engage with the company on this issue on several occasions over several years but the company has simply refused to consider anything other than the erratic rostering patterns that have become the norm at the airline. It has resulted in an exhausted crew who feel now that the only option left to them is the option of last resort, which is a work stoppage. It is regrettable that it has come to this, but the current arrangements are unsustainable.”

Mr Landers went on to say that the cabin crew branch is confident that alternative rosters could be employed without being detrimental to productivity, or at any extra cost to Aer Lingus.

At present cabin crew can work up to 60 hours in a seven-day period, resulting in shift patterns of six working days and one day of rest, followed by six more working days.

Mr Landers outlined how cabin crew have sought a roster similar to those for pilots at the airline, of five work days followed by three days of rest.

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