Labour Court to formally intervene in Aer Lingus pilot pay dispute

Aer Lingus pilots march around Dublin Airport as they began their eight-hour strike on Saturday.

THE LABOUR COURT has said it will officially intervene in the ongoing dispute between Aer Lingus and its pilots following an eight-hour meeting with the two sides yesterday.

The court has asked that there be no escalation in the pilots’ industrial action as their work-to-rule industrial action remains in place.

The pilots, represented by the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA), are in the midst of industrial action after negotiations over a pay increase with Aer Lingus reached an impasse.

The airline has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights as a result of strikes and work-to-rule action by the pilots.

The court has said it will exercise its right to intervene under the Industrial Relations Act, RTÉ reported at the conclusion of the talks last night.

The court has requested final written submissions from the parties by the end of business today.

IALPA president Mark Tighe told RTÉ last night that Aer Lingus had refused to budge on pay and that it also brought forward new demands that the court had not seen before, which he said had prompted the court to hold “a formal investigation” tomorrow.

The pilots have asked for a pay rise of 24%, in line with inflation since 2019, while the airline has stuck to its offer of 12.5%.

Aer Lingus’s chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty said after the meeting last night that the airline had been open to reaching a solution “using all avenues available to it”.

“We outlined those details to the court and the court determined that a formal hearing is the best next step to take,” he said.

Each side has blamed the other for prolonging the standoff that has led to almost 400 flights being cancelled and disrupted tens of thousands of passengers’ travel plans.