Cabin crew members on the picket line at Dublin airport today. Photo: IMPACT Communications Unit.
Members of IMPACT’s Cabin Crew branch are on a 24-hour strike today over management’s intransigent attitude to rosters that create intolerable burdens on staff. The dispute has seen 200 flights cancelled at a loss of €10 million to the company.
The two sides are expected to meet next week, although management’s 11th-hour invitation to talks was not enough to stop today’s dispute.
Máire Ní Chleirigh, who has worked with the airline for 25 years, said cabin crew wanted to work with management in a constructive and positive way and develop rosters that meet everyone’s needs. “We would rather be doing our job than taking this action, but we can't go on any longer the way things are. We are happy to meet the company's productivity demands, and the long days that go with it. But we need our time off to be better planned in order to meet those demands. Stable roster patterns like the ones we've proposed are already in use in other airlines," she said.
IMPACT has called on management to consider a trial period for the union's proposed rosters on European short haul services. But, according to official Michael Landers, the company “simply got up and left the room when we attempted to talk to them about it.”
The union has rubbished management claims that cabin crew are seeking additional leave. “Our proposals would deliver the same high levels of productivity and flying hours. The company's claims around this are simply wrong. Our members are not seeking extra leave. They are quite prepared to work to the demands of the schedule, but they need to have adequate periods of rests between blocks of duty. This would put an end to the chaotic roster patterns currently in use and make the rosters more sustainable," said Landers.
