Aer Lingus unions split on support for IAG bid
Unions aligned with Aer Lingus’ [LON:AERA] workforce are divided on the best way to guarantee their members’ jobs are retained should a proposed takeover bid from IAG [LON:IAG] materialise.
The Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (Siptu), which represents 1,500 Aer Lingus workers, has not ruled out supporting the sale as long as guarantees on job retention and aviation connectivity are given by IAG.
While Siptu has left the door open, Impact Union, which represents around 1,200 cabin crew, 500 pilots, and 100 ground staff, said it will not support any sale because it doubts IAG will give the kind of credible “cast iron guarantees” for which Siptu and the Irish government are asking.
IAG proposed on Monday three “legally binding commitments” designed to address concerns over the use of Aer Lingus’ 23 Heathrow slots, which many fear would no longer be used to service the Irish market under IAG’s ownership. The IAG statement did not mention job retention, though.
IAG has been discussing its proposal to buy Aer Lingus for EUR 1.36bn with the Irish Government since the airline’s board signalled it was willing to recommend such a deal.
Irish Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the government will take into consideration, among other matters, the effects on transport links to Europe and the US, and jobs associated with those transport links, before a decision is made.
Impact said it remained fully opposed to any sale of the airline because IAG’s guarantees on the slots were “unconvincing”. In an emailed statement to this news service, Impact said a commitment not to sell the slots was no guarantee that the use of the slots would not change.
“The decision by Aer Lingus some years ago to remove Heathrow slots from their connection to Shannon was very damaging. IAG would be able to change the use of these slots as they pleased, including a transfer of use to another airline, without having to sell them. Similarly, a commitment to maintain the slots on Irish routes for five years means we have no guarantees on connectivity to Heathrow beyond that time limit,” according to the statement.
Any concessions given by IAG after the government sold its stake would not be enforceable and corporations are inherently unable to give certainty on their future direction, said an Impact spokesperson.
Siptu organiser Owen Reidy told this news service that Impact’s estimates of 1,200 job losses were speculative, and Impact’s conclusion that no deals could be struck with IAG was “too dismissive”. “Everyone is saying no to the deal but what happens if the government say a firm ‘no’ and then the share price collapses? What happens then?” Reidy questioned.
There is some concern that a rival bidder with less fear for the Irish economy and labour force than IAG could swoop on Aer Lingus if the present proposal fails and the share price slumps, it is understood.
Minister Donohoe has promised to consult with Siptu, Impact, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions before making a decision on whether to sell, Reidy said.
Reidy also said he believed Siptu would have a key role to play in negotiating directly with IAG should the government green-light a sale.
Impact’s spokesperson said it had not engaged in any direct discussions with Aer Lingus nor IAG over its concerns so far. However, he did not rule out engaging in consultations or negotiations with the parties over potential concessions, although he said he thought any comments at this stage would be too speculative given the terms of any proposed offer were not yet known.