Ball now in pilots’ court as Labour Court recommends 17.75% pay boost

The Labour Court is proposing that Aer Lingus boosts pilots’ pay by 17.75% in a recommendation that many observers believe is the last real opportunity to break the deadlock between the two sides and end a bitter labour dispute that has disrupted the summer travel plans of 82,000 passengers. Members of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), part of trade union Fórsa, have been seeking a pay rise of 23.88%, or 27%, depending on whether it was the company or the workers doing the calculations, since they first lodged a claim with Aer Lingus in October 2022. The dispute simmered for two years but it took off two weeks ago when pilots began refusing out of hours work, overtime and roster changes in a work to rule that has continued since. They also downed tools for an eight-hour strike on Saturday, June 29th. Before that point, the two sides had already been once to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), part of the State’s system for resolving industrial disputes, and twice to the Labour Court. The Labour Court recommendation published on Monday goes a good deal further than an interim proposal the same body tabled in May. That called for a 9.25% hike for pilots while suggesting that the parties take issues on which they could not agree back to the WRC. The latest recommendation proposes that Aer Lingus increase pilots’ pay by 17.75% over more than three years, beginning with 2% backdated to January 2023 and concluding with a final 1% hike to kick in on July 1st, 2026.<br/>