29/03/2010

Kennedy Welcomes Aer Lingus Agreement

Fianna Fáil TD Michael Kennedy has welcomed the results of a ballot of cabin crew at Aer Lingus after an agreement was hammered out over 'restructuring' plans by the airline.

The trade union representing the cabin crew, Impact, announced on Friday its members supported a deal brokered with the airline.

Responding to the announcement, Mr Kennedy said: "The overwhelming result of this ballot is very good news for Aer Lingus, its staff and the travelling public.

“I have been closely monitoring the developments at Aer Lingus since the airline announced that it was seeking to reduce staff numbers and tackle its costs. I want to thank all of those who have been involved in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion with the support of the unions and their members."

Impact said that the result of the ballot was 92% in favour of the proposals, with 8% against.

A spokesman for the union said: "It is significant that this result was achieved through a joint negotiating process. Furthermore, the agreement was achieved without any recourse to, or threat of, industrial action at any stage of the negotiations."

Extensive bilateral discussions on the issue took place last week at the Labour Relations Commission where the deal was laid out.

The cabin crew branch committee said that they were "very pleased" with the outcome of the ballot and said the past few months had been a difficult time as they faced significant cost saving proposals barely a year after similar proposals were valued at €15million.

However, the committee said they hoped the positive vote would mark the start of a "new relationship with management, based on the principal of mutual respect".

(DW/GK)


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