Aer Lingus pilots’ industrial action could pave way for other unions’ pay demands – The Irish Times

When Aer Lingus pilots vote on proposals to resolve their fares dispute later this month, the announcement will be closely watched by both the airline’s management and passengers planning to travel during the busy August period.

But the company’s other employees will also be closely monitoring developments.

In the case of Aer Lingus, according to the unions, the issue is not whether paying pilots salaries outside the norm could have consequences, but that such a scenario is explicitly provided for in the internal agreements.

This will not necessarily lead to further industrial action at the airline. Rather, an end to the pilot dispute is likely to trigger the start of a new cycle of industrial relations in which other groups could try to make up what they see as lost ground.

The Siptu union represents around 1,200 Aer Lingus employees who work in areas including guest services, baggage handling, loading and cleaning aircraft.

Niall Phillips, aviation sector organiser at Siptu, said a three-year contract with the airline had been signed at the end of 2022, under which staff would receive a 12.25 per cent pay rise.

He said the agreement included a clause allowing Siptu to return to the negotiating table if another group in the company received a higher percentage bonus without any compensatory measures.

It is assumed that a similar rule applies to cabin crew.

Following the Labour Court’s recommendation, pilots would receive a 17.75 percent pay rise until July 2026. Philips said that if pilots accepted the proposals, the union group at Aer Lingus, which also includes Fórsa and Connect, would meet and decide on how to proceed.

The headline result is that pilots appear to have been offered more under their contracts with the airline than other groups.

However, several industrial relations practitioners point out that these are different timelines. The agreements with Siptu members and with cabin crew run until the end of 2025. The pilots’ proposals extend to 2026.

Some argue that on an annual basis there is not much difference between the two groups’ proposed pay rises. But the agreements are not entirely identical. Phillips said Siptu members were due to receive 1.5 per cent – or €750 – in October, but that this would not be recurring or pensionable. For pilots, the 1.5 per cent increase proposed for October is recurring.

The timing of the proposed agreement in the pilots dispute could help avert immediate action from groups seeking similar arrangements. One industrial relations figure with long experience in the aviation sector said that “the arc of post-Covid arrangements” was coming to an end in this area, with pilots effectively the last group left standing.

Fórsa is not only the umbrella organisation of the pilots’ union Ialpa, but also represents cabin crew at Aer Lingus. It has negotiated a contract worth 12.25 per cent until the end of 2025, which includes improved credits, commissions and a one-off tax-free voucher payment this year. The union has also signed a new collective agreement with the Irish Aviation Authority.

Some sources have indicated that discussions on successor agreements would normally begin next year. These could serve as a means of dealing with any backlog claims.

( The Irish Times view on the Aer Lingus pilot dispute: It’s time to draw a line under itOpens in new window. )

Some long-time figures in the world of industrial relations said cabin crew and other groups were watching developments related to pilots with interest.

“Industrial relations post-Covid may be at a point where things are starting to settle down. But then again, things can get turbulent very quickly and it would be foolish to assume that everything will be fine in the long term,” one source said.

But what about the impact of the 17.75 percent pay proposal for pilots on the wider economy? As in the case of the airline itself, few unions monitor the outcome of industrial disputes more closely than others. A collective agreement that is outside the norm and negotiated by a group with significant influence can often become a target for others in the same industry or with the same employer.

The government has been concerned for years about a “contagion risk” in its industrial relations with the public service, particularly because it is the largest single employer. Since 2010, it has been trying to negotiate pay collectively with all public service unions. When the Gardaí negotiated a €50 million deal after a dispute in 2016, it threatened to overturn the entire public service collective agreement in place at the time. The then government quickly gave other civil servants earning up to €65,000 a €1,000 pay rise to keep the overall agreement afloat.

So is there a risk that the deal offered to pilots will trigger a winter of industrial action while other workers seek better terms and conditions? Prof Michael O’Doherty of Maynooth University’s law school, an industrial relations expert, says it is important to remember that Aer Lingus is a private company. He says strikes are relatively rare in Ireland and large-scale work stoppages in the private sector are even rarer. While it is possible that there could be follow-on legal action, it is also possible that individual workers may approach their employer privately and demand more money or simply change jobs, he says.

According to Prof. O’Doherty, there are large industries in the private sector where any conflict could attract a lot of attention and cause damage, such as the technology or pharmaceutical sectors. However, workers in these sectors are generally not unionized, he says.

In the heavily unionized public sector, unions negotiated a collective agreement last year with a 10.25 percent pay increase that runs until June 2026. Representatives of public sector unions expect this agreement to “retain its value” given the drop in inflation. However, there are voices who believe that the labor court’s recommendation for pilots could – and should – set a new benchmark for pay increases.

“At a time when profits have reached record highs and wages are generally being kept below inflation, I believe the government, employers and the mainstream media have been strongly opposed to pilots’ demands for a 24 percent pay increase out of fear of contagion,” said Socialist Party MP Mick Barry.

“Even if the 17.75 percent proposal is accepted, it still has the potential to set a new peak wage and show that union militancy can pay off. Other airport workers will want similar increases, and outside the airport the wage issues can be addressed. And that’s not a bad thing, in my opinion.”

Owen Reidy, general secretary of the Irish Confederation of Trade Unions (Ictu), said the union had advised its private sector affiliates to aim for pay rises in the range of 4 to 6 per cent, provided they were affordable. He said this would result in workers receiving pay rises this year that would protect them from inflation. But he stressed that prices would not fall, they just would not rise as quickly as before.

Neil McDonnell, CEO of the Isme group of companies, said that because of the structure of the employment tribunal’s recommendation on Aer Lingus, he did not expect there to be any wide-ranging consequences. He said if there were any knock-on effects, they could be in businesses that are profitable and competing for key staff.