Talks between Aer Lingus management and unions on the airline's plan to restructure operations and cut more than 1,300 jobs start on Monday.
The appointment of Mr Kevin Foley of the Labour Relations Commission as facilitator of the talks was welcomed yesterday by SIPTU and IMPACT, the unions representing the majority of the company's 4,000 staff.
Mr Foley, the LRC's director of conciliation services, contacted unions and management yesterday.
A formal structure for the discussions has yet to be drawn up, however, and that will be one of the first tasks facing the parties on Monday. Another priority for the unions, in particular SIPTU, whose members would take the brunt of the job cuts, will be to secure a lifting of the September 14th deadline for receipt of redundancy applications.
Mr Michael Halpenny, SIPTU national industrial secretary, said resolving the deadline issue was not a precondition for the union's participation in the talks. "We have put no preconditions and we expect that nobody else will either," he said.
However, SIPTU had made it clear that lifting the deadline was a priority issue and the company had agreed that it would be dealt with through the talks process.
The airline has offered nine weeks pay per year of service as part of a redundancy package set to cost an estimated €80 million. It is understood that some 360 Aer Lingus workers have signed up for the redundancy package, so far. About 1,000 staff have contacted the company's helpline to seek information about the package. Mr Walsh and his management team have said they are seeking 1,325 redundancies.
SIPTU claims, however, that there are serious flaws in the package and that it is not as attractive as the headline figures make it appear. Unions also question the need to cut a third of the jobs at the airline at a time when it is highly profitable and they have concerns about the employment conditions for those who remain.
The plan to outsource activities such as baggage-handling is another key union concern.
Mr Halpenny said he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the prospects of reaching agreement. "It is an enormous task and I wouldn't like to minimise the difficulties." Mr Foley is a highly-experienced talks facilitator and helped broker the Aer Lingus survival plan of nearly three years ago.
