Following a record turnout, SIPTU members at Aer Lingus have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, including all out strike, to bring about an acceptable resolution of the dispute on the pension issue. Staff at the airline have been unsuccessfully seeking to have their employer deal with the significant deficit in the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) for several years. Dermot O'Loughlin, SIPTU’s Pension Policy Advisor, said; “A total of 91% and 80% of the membership in two ballots voted in favour of taking industrial and strike action respectively. Separately, by way of a plebiscite, over 76% members indicated that they would prefer that their on-going pension contributions to the scheme to be withheld pending resolution of the dispute on the pension issue. This demonstrates that staff at the airline are angry, disillusioned and frustrated that an acceptable resolution has not been found to the pensions crisis. “Before proceeding further, we will now be moving to consult with those of our members who are not in the IASS scheme and indeed who have no proper pension provision at all. We will be seeking to ascertain their views as to how to best further their interests in relation to pensions. We will also be consulting with the other trade unions in Aer Lingus before proceeding with any type of action. “It is the view of the Pensions Committee that this situation has come about as a consequence of the intransigence and procrastination of the Trustees of the Scheme, the Regulatory Authority and the company which has forced the membership into this very serious position.”
SIPTU members at Aer Lingus vote for strike action over pensions
