Costcutting union deal to save IAA €2m
Staff earning more than €38,500 to have shorter working week
STAFF at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) are to deliver €2m in savings for the authority over the next four months as the agency deals with a collapse in revenue because of Covid-19.
It follows the IAA and unions at the authority – Fórsa and the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS) – reaching a deal over cost-cutting measures at the agency, where more than 700 people are employed.
The IAA was seeking to place 116 operational staff on special leave at 40pc of salary for four months or an across-the-board salary cut of 10pc to achieve the €2m savings between July to the end of October.
However, those proposals will not go ahead and, instead, the unions have agreed staff earning more than €38,500 will change to a four-and-ahalf-day working week and a voluntary scheme introducing special leave arrangements.
In a briefing note to staff, union representatives said a united approach to no job losses had been adopted in talks and that the plan to give special leave to 116 staff placed the burden of the company’s cost-cutting measures unfairly on an identified cohort of workers.
The union representatives acknowledged some staff may be called upon to work normally at certain times during the temporary agreement due to the demands of business and infrastructural needs.
The note “acknowledges wholeheartedly that members in this position are making the ultimate act of solidarity with their fellow workers”.
The planned savings make up the second phase of cost containment measures at the IAA.
The briefing note says the shortened working week and special leave arrangements are temporary and that there will be triggers and dates to return full hours to staff. It adds that cost containment measures are in place due to the “collapse” in revenues.
The two sides entered talks against the background of air traffic decreasing by more than 80pc since March because of Covid-19.
The bulk of the authority’s revenues of €197m last year was made up of €129m in ‘en route’ aviation services.
Staff pay for April and May was protected as the IAA used cash reserves to maintain liquidity. At the end of last year, the IAA’s cash pile stood at €20.1m. The 2019 annual report for the IAA shows staff are generally well paid with 374 earning more than €100,000 a year.
The union briefing note to staff said: “The goodwill generated and the barriers broken down with the IAA board and HR bodes well for the future, as common sense and leadership have prevailed during a very difficult process.
““A problem-solving environment has now been created, that the staff panel is part of problem solutions, rather than being on the receiving end of unilateral decisions by the IAA Board and HR.
“This point is important, as the longer this crisis goes on, the measures approved by the IAA board may become more severe.”
In a statement, the IAA said: “Phase one cost avoidance measures, which include a curtailment of capital expenditure and a moratorium on recruitment, remain in place.”
The unions have decided against holding a ballot due to Covid-19 restrictions.