Fórsa is preparing to negotiate a comprehensive new five-year pay and pensions deal with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). Six of the union’s branches – drawn from each of the unions that amalgamated to form Fórsa last year – will be represented as a single unit for the first time when talks commence later this month.

The current agreement with the IAA expires at the end of 2019. Fórsa official Johnny Fox said negotiations on a new five-year pay and pensions deal were brought forward to March, owing to the likely complexity of the task.

Johnny will be working with Fórsa official Denis Keane and Billy Thompson of the AHCPS in the negotiations. “This is the first time we’re entering negotiations as a single union, alongside the AHCPS. Previously, pay discussions would've been handled by three separate (IMPACT) union branches,” he said.

“We’re embarking on a major set of negotiations, which we estimate will take six months or more. For those of us involved, it’s very significant that we’re entering negotiations as one union. It shows the confidence of our new union structure, taking on something of this scale at this early stage,” he said.

The union branches represented by Fórsa in the negotiations include the Aviation Technical Officers Association, which joined Fórsa in March last year.