Aer Lingus wants to freeze pay until 2026 to stem pandemic losses of €1m a day

In proposals put to unions, it wants to freeze pay until 2026 and cut contribution to staff pensions from 10pc to 7pc for new recruits.

According to documents presented to unions Fórsa and Siptu, pay cuts for longer-standing employees will not kick in until staff are back working their full hours and on full pay, as many are working part-time currently.

Paid sick leave would also be reduced, with the starting wage for new cabin crew recruits cut by 10pc to €23,000, while the company also wants to reduce commission for cabin staff on sales from the current 12pc.

It also wants to cut allowances, stop automatic promotions and wants greater flexibility in duties from ground staff. Aer Lingus has already closed its cabin crew base at Shannon Airport.

In a letter to the unions reported by RTÉ, Aer Lingus executive director of human resources Sean Murphy said the airline had already lost more than €100million in the first quarter of this year, having lost €361million last year.

He insisted the airline would emerge from the pandemic, but added: "As you are aware, the situation remains extremely fluid and we cannot discount further immediate decisions needing to be taken. Therefore we ask that in advance of our next meeting on 1 June, we encourage you and your colleagues to reflect on the seriousness of the situation and stress the importance of our next meeting.”

Fórsa, which represents about 2,000 cabin crew at Aer Lingus, said it was consulting with its members and engaging with the airline.

“Fórsa’s priorities in these discussions is to continue to protect cabin crew jobs at the airline, and to ensure sustainable employment terms as the aviation industry commences recovery from the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the union said, calling for the Government to provide “leadership, clarity and certainty for the aviation sector in order to guard against widespread job losses in the industry”.