Skip to content
Branch News

Travel disruption likely as Czech Airlines sack Dublin workforce

Date Released: 16 Jan 2009

Czech Airline services face disruption from 3.00pm today at Dublin airport after the company refused to offer more than statutory redundancy to its Irish work force. It has refused repeated requests from SIPTU for talks and would only engage in an exchange of correspondence over the past six weeks.

Czech Airlines is closing its Dublin office and outsourcing ground operations to Britain and to Sky Handling in Dublin.

Speaking this afternoon, SIPTU’s Aviation Organiser, Dermot O’Loughlin said: “All initiatives to resolve this issue came from the Union.  The company did not engage in any face to face meetings. To exacerbate the situation, Czech Airlines has offered severance terms on other occasions far in excess of the statutory redundancy being offered to their Irish workforce”. Mr. O’Loughlin added that industrial action will commence from 3.00pm today. Czech Airlines provides scheduled flights from Dublin as well as numerous charter services for Irish tour operators.