Fórsa, which represents pilots and winch crew at the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Aviation Service, met this week with management of the new operator of the State’s search-and-rescue (SAR) contract, Bristow Ireland Ltd.
The union had sought to meet with the new operator following its engagement with the Department of Transport over its concerns on the transfer pilots and technical winch crew, and that this would take place in accordance with the 2003 EU Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) regulations.
Following the meeting on Tuesday (3rd October), which included representatives of IALPA and Fórsa’s IESA branch, national secretary Katie Morgan said Bristow and the union had committed to ongoing engagement: “We’ve agreed to meet with Bristow on a fortnightly basis as the transfer process gets underway. Our aim will be to ensure a smooth transfer for our members in SAR, a process that’s expected to take two years.
“Fórsa’s priority is to ensure that our members’ terms and conditions of employment are seamlessly transferred over to the new operator,” she said.
In correspondence with IALPA vice president Daniel Langan this week, Irish Coast Guard director Micheál O’Toole said Bristow has given a commitment to the Department of Transport that the company supports the principles of TUPE and that it will fully engage with unions as part of the transition and mobilisation phase of the new contract.
Reiterating the Irish Coast Guard’s commitment to enabling a smooth transition, he acknowledged “the skill professionalism and commitment to service of the CHCI SAR Aviation crews based at Sligo, Shannon, Waterford and Dublin” and thanked them for their ongoing dedication to a responsive maritime SAR service for Ireland.
He said Irish Coast Guard management is actively engaged with all stakeholders, including CHC as the operator of the current contract, to enable the smooth transition to the new contract.
In June this year CHC Ireland filed legal proceedings against the Government’s tendering process after it failed to secure a new contract, reported to be worth €670 million.
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