Aer Lingus will reduce its employees' pay and working hours to less than half of pre-COVID-19 crisis levels due to the failure of staff to meet the acceptance deadline for its workplace reform programme.
The deadline for Aer Lingus employees to accept plans for work practice changes was 6pm on Monday June 15, and the airline's chief executive, Sean Doyle, told staff in a video issued following said deadline that the proposals have been taken off the table because not all unions accepted the COVID-19 crisis recovery plan in time.
As reported by The Irish Times, Doyle stated, "Aer Lingus will now proceed with the planned layoffs and further reductions to working hours and pay that were previously communicated."
"Absolutely Required"
Doyle also stated that work practice changes will now be implemented and are "absolutely required in the context of the unprecedented crisis that we face".
Unions had previously asserted that they required more time to consider the plan and vote on it, with Forsa, which represents cabin crew, saying that it would ballot members this week regardless of the June 15 deadline.
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