Aer Lingus Flight Crew Industrial relations thread 2024

What do you not understand?

I was saying that pilot pay increases being to the detriment of other staff groups is not true, and in fact beneficial for other staff groups as I've been informed...

Fully agree.

On the contrary, it'll end very quickly when govt and other vested interests in Irish tourism economy need an agreement reached. We're at the towel swinging in the dressing room stage of IR conflicts.

A lot of people on here saying the pilots won't have sympathy if they go on strike. That shouldn't and doesn't matter at all. This is a dispute within a private Corporation between its (extremely poor) management team and its (slightly greedy) pilots. I remember when Ryanair pilots went on strike and even here on boards there were a lot of people criticising them for wanting something as simple as union recognition.

Aer Lingus management already proved they aren't taking this seriously enough by not accepting the electronic ballot and customers should take note of that.

Negotiations always have a high claim and a low offer. That's how negotiations start. The pilots won't get 24% but management will face continued strikes unless they offer something much better than 9%.

I do think blanket percentage increases are not the correct way to do it. It should be a lower percentage increase for those on 150/200k plus and a higher percentage increase for those on below 100k. The net financial gain will be more balanced then.

The unions will have to give EI notice and will announce strike dates

So I wouldn't get too wortied about your flight on EI at this stage

If management had any skills in running this airline, they would have sorted this a long time ago. In reality, I think something like a 15% pay rise, back dated to 1 January 2023 with no contingencies on productivity for that. Then agree a further 2.5% in 2025 and 2.5% in 2026. Get the job done and move on. Show the people they can run the airline and also their parent company.

This being allowed to happen and going on the airwaves discussing salaries for the same people who fly us across the Atlantic in all sorts of challenging conditions with huge responsibility on their shoulders, who are already being paid the same or in some cases a lot less then their fellow Euro operators.

The whole operation being relied on by people coming in to keep the show on the road when they are not scheduled to and using hire ins throughout the year gives a very bad impression. In what other areas does management want to cut back on?

EI pilots wore the green jersey in Covid, took huge cuts for an extended period of time. The company is raking in the profits and management are sharing the spoils at the expense of those who actually work on the front line of the operation. IALPA are merely using what they are legally entitled to do for their members. EI don't want to negotiate, which shows their poor management skills yet again.

I don't see how that's in any way relevant. The scale of the company is not really significant. They both deliver the same profit margin (within 0.1% of each other in 2023). Yes, BA is a much larger organisation and thus the numbers are bigger, but again the margins are the same. It's a nonsense argument.

What exactly will that mean in reality? (Genuine Q). Eg what's a Friday change?

Some cancellations most likely. This happened a few years ago due to staffing issues.

They probably didn’t need a ballot to work to rule really - or maybe they do?

if the Pilots work to rule and the impact is significant (as predicted) then that is purely on EI management. You can’t run a business that size on the hope that your pilots will help you out, maybe in extreme scenarios they can assist and cover gaps but not every day.

Surely this is much worse for customers as we still have no idea who will be affected and when.

At least if they said all out strike on July 1 then those affected could make alternative plans.

Worst-case I guess you might not know until you are at the airport - and of course that's even worse if you are travelling home from somewhere else.