Details of 230 cabin crew redundancies announced by Aer Lingus today

The union is requesting that the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) reconvene the parties in order to find a mutual solution.

Despite statements by the CEO of the airline, the measures that have been announced look very much like a form of retribution against cabin crew for voting against the proposals.

The announcement today that the company will seek to make the entire cabin crew redundant and re-hire roughly 75% of the workers on new contracts is viewed by the union as particularly brutal treatment.

IMPACT believes that the measures, if fully implemented, will damage the long term sustainability of the airline, as it will have alienated almost half of its entire workforce.

Cabin crew workers have proved themselves, over successive cost saving programmes since 2001, to be a loyal and understanding group of workers.

The proposals that have emerged today will very likely bring that loyalty to an end.

IMPACT trade union believes that, despite the very small window of opportunity that exists, before the redundancies are implemented, a negotiated solution that delivers the savings required by the airline provides the best opportunity to secure the airline's long term future.

One of the difficulties with the proposals was that they had been tabled barely a year) after cabin crew had agreed to substantial cost saving measures, then valued by Aer Lingus at €15 million. This had followed €8 million worth of savings agreed in 2007, as well as a succession of cost saving deals dating back to September 2001, all of which impacted negatively on earnings and working conditions.

The union wishes to ensure that cabin crew members are comprehensively briefed on the measures, and will meet cabin crew workers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports over the next 48 hours.