Redundancy row as Aer Lingus says new tech devices were interfered with

Aer Lingus has claimed new hand-held devices designed to streamline its operations at Dublin Airport have been interfered with as a row over redundancies has erupted. Last Tuesday, Aer Lingus director of employee relations and change Sean Murphy wrote to Siptu aviation sector organiser Neil McGowan to say "a number of worrying developments have arisen in Dublin ramp operations in recent days". "Most notably," he wrote, "the interference with a significant number of Netline devices." Siptu had claimed the airline had threatened at a meeting to make redundant more than 40 so-called red caps, who coordinate and handle individual flights on the airport ramp. An Aer Lingus spokeswoman said :"There will be no redundancies and no outsourcing as a result of these changes - it is simply a question of moving with the times". <br/>