Aer Lingus pilot’s demand for a 24% pay increase is ‘exorbitant, untenable and will not happen’, the airline has told Newstalk Breakfast.
Yesterday, an overwhelming 99% majority of Aer Lingus pilots voted in favour of industrial action - the second time they have done so in the past week.
No date has been set for the action with the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) unlikely to give Aer Lingus any more warning than the legally required seven days’ notice.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Aer Lingus spokesman Donal Moriarty said the pilots seem to be “absolutely determined to inflict the disruption of industrial action on the travelling public this summer”.
He said the airline will do everything it can to minimise disruption for passengers but insisted Aer Lingus can’t be “held to ransom” by pilots demanding an “absolutely untenable” pay rise.
Mr Moriarty said the pilots have already rejected two independent processes - the Aer Lingus Pilot Pay Tribunal and the Labour Court - and are now refusing to engage in meaningful talks or to go to the Workplace Relations Commission.
“What we're saying is that the last thing we want is disruption for customers, but we cannot be held to ransom for a 24% pay increase,” he said.
“It doesn't make sense. It's exorbitant, it's untenable and it will not happen.”
Asked if a strike is now imminent with both sides so far apart in their positions, Mr Moriarty said, “that seems to be the determined course of IALPA”.
“Any industrial action will inevitably cause very significant disruption with flight cancellations etc,” he said.
“Aer Lingus will do everything we can to minimise that disruption for customers and we will communicate very clearly with them but IALPA are determined to do it.
“The last thing we want is disruption to our customers but equally, we can't be held to ransom by IALPA seeking a 24% increase in pay, which is absolutely untenable.”
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17 июн 2024