Worker directors at Aer Lingus have refused to sign the accounts of the company for 2002. At a board meeting yesterday, the employees objected to statements in the accounts relating to staff pension provision.

The company insists there has been no change in pension provision.

The board approved the accounts without amendment by a majority vote over the objections of the three worker directors present. A fourth worker director did not attend the meeting.

A spokesman for the airline said: "The worker directors present refused to approve the accounts on the basis of the description contained in the detailed notes to the accounts relating to the current pension arrangements for the company's employees. The trades unions have been conducting a long-standing campaign in relation to pensions.

"No other issues were raised on the accounts by any board member prior to their formal approval."

Unions have been at odds with the airline since the publication of last year's annual report. What had previously been termed a "defined benefit" pension plan was last year altered to "targeted benefit plan".

The unions say the change in terminology implies that staff who expected a guaranteed pension entitlement were now getting only an "aspirational commitment".

They are even more concerned about the wording included in this year's accounts, which says that, in the case of a deficit, the trustees of the scheme cannot increase contributions from the employer or the members without their consent. The section is lifted from the rules of the pension scheme which covers workers in Aer Lingus.

SIPTU's Aer Lingus branch secretary Mr Owen Reidy accused the company of quoting selectively from the pension fund rules. "This is a cynical approach to make the airline more attractive to potential investors," he said. "They are saying: 'The scheme may be defined benefit but we do not have to pay a cent over our present financial commitment'."

He said the worker directors had been "110 per cent correct" in opposing any such wording in the accounts.

The airline insists the change in wording occurred merely to reflect new accounting rules. Sources close to the company say it took legal and pensions advice before settling on the disputed wording.

They said there was no alteration to pension policy which, in any case, could only be effected by pension fund trustees and members and insist it is still a defined benefit scheme under the terms of the 1990 Pensions Act.

The two sides have already been before the Labour Relations Commission over the dispute and have sought a ruling from the Pensions Board, which says that the scheme is registered with it as defined benefit.

Aer Lingus and its employees contribute equally to the pension scheme - each putting in 6.875 per cent of gross salary.

The issue of addressing a deficiency has attracted added significance following the poor performance of pension funds in the past three years, since the last actuarial valuation of the Irish Airlines Superannuation Fund of which most Aer Lingus staff are members.

The accounts will be published in mid-March. Aer Lingus has recently announced that its most recent forecast of an operating profit for 2002 of €45 million will be comfortably exceeded.