A planned strike by Aer Lingus cabin crew on Monday looked likely to be called off last night after a Labour Court recommendation was issued.
The union involved, IMPACT, will hold an emergency meeting of its cabin crew committee this morning to decide whether to go ahead with the strike.
The most likely scenario is that it will put the court's recommendation to a ballot of the union's 1,000 cabin crew members and postpone Monday's action.
More than 20,000 passengers are due to fly with Aer Lingus on the final day of the bank holiday weekend. Even if the strike goes ahead, the airline says it will provide close to a full schedule of services, with just 17 out of 200 flights due to be cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made for the passengers affected, it says.
In addition to the threatened disruption on Monday, a number of transatlantic flights from Dublin and Shannon tomorrow have been moved to earlier times.
The Labour Court recommendation, arising from talks between the parties last Sunday, was issued at about 8 p.m. last night. IMPACT spokesman Mr Bernard Harbor said the cabin crew committee would give it "serious and thorough consideration".
"Hopefully around lunchtime we'll be giving a response to it."
The dispute is over changes to cabin crews' work practices in return for a delayed 4 per cent pay increase.
The court's recommendation is understood to be lengthy and focuses on the issue at the centre of the row, the airline's demand that staff rosters accommodate 25-minute aircraft "turnaround times" at airports. The court recommends that fixed turnaround times be implemented but that the matter be reviewed after three months to assess the impact on staff.
Two previous Labour Court recommendations on wider productivity issues have already been rejected by the union.
A new recommendation, however, would almost certainly have to be put to members in a ballot.
If the cabin crew committee decides to adopt that course today, it would be under intense pressure to call off Monday's action.
An Aer Lingus spokesman, Mr Dan Loughrey, said the recommendation would be considered by the airline's management and its board at its next scheduled meeting on Thursday. He urged the union to call off all its industrial action, including a work-to-rule which has been in place since September 1st.
It was unclear last night what effect a decision to call off the strike would have on Monday's services, given that Aer Lingus is already committed to hiring in aircraft and crew to maintain schedules.
A spokeswoman for the airline said it would not speculate on its likely response to a decision to cancel the strike.
"We're under strike threat and we're working on the basis that there will be a strike. If the situation changes, we will respond at that stage."
