Aer Lingus must prioritise jobs
by Bernard Harbor
 
Ashley Connolly, who heads Fórsa’s Services and Enterprises Division, said the news might have been avoided if the Government had moved faster to implement supports for the aviation sector and give a clear roadmap on when and how international air travel would resume.
Ashley Connolly, who heads Fórsa’s Services and Enterprises Division, said the news might have been avoided if the Government had moved faster to implement supports for the aviation sector and give a clear roadmap on when and how international air travel would resume.

Fórsa has told Aer Lingus management that it must prioritise redeployment over redundancies in order to preserve as many Shannon and Cork-based cabin crew jobs. The union made its demand at a meeting with the airline on Tuesday (18th May), following the company’s devastating announcement that the Shannon base is to close and Cork cabin crew will be laid off without pay between September and November.

 

In a letter to the transport department, airline management also said it wanted to reduce Cork-based cabin crew headcount by ten. Aer Lingus employs 83 cabin crew in Shannon and 99 in Cork.

 

Fórsa has demanded a meaningful engagement aimed at maximising job retention and getting laid-off crew back to work as quickly as possible.

 

The union has also called for urgent Government action, including abespoke aviation income support scheme, to underpin jobs and maintain the relationship between employers and employees during what is likely to be a long period of recovery.


Ashley Connolly, who heads Fórsa’s Services and Enterprises Division, said the news might have been avoided if the Government had moved faster to implement supports for the aviation sector and give a clear roadmap on when and how international air travel would resume.

 

“Since Covid struck, we have fought hard to maintain links between staff and their employer so that Aer Lingus and other airlines are ready to bounce back once international travel starts to resume. The Government needs to decide if the crisis in this vital industry is to be permanent or temporary.

 

“Only the State has the power and resources to preserve Ireland’s vital international connectivity – the connectivity that supports thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs – over the coming months, and possibly years,” she said.

 

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