Fórsa rejects demand for Aer Lingus probe

Cabin crew submitted a petition that was heavily critical of trade union, writes Fearghal O’Connor

TRADE union Fórsa will not hold an investigation into how negotiations with Aer Lingus, and a subsequent last-minute ballot of cabin crew, were handled by officials, it has told the Sunday Independent.

Cabin crew had raised serious concerns and circulated a petition demanding an investigation into the events surrounding what they described as a “deeply flawed” ballot on a proposed deal with Aer Lingus management on work practice changes. That proposal was heavily defeated in the ballot by cabin crew last week.

Siptu, which did not ballot its ground staff members on the deal, has since agreed a new very similar deal with airline management, who had pulled the original proposal two weeks ago when a deadline for acceptance passed.

“The union’s National Executive Committee was informed of the contents of the petition when it met on Wednesday of this week (June 24). It does not intend to undertake an investigation,” said a spokesman for Fórsa.

The petition was particularly critical of how Fórsa handled the recent talks with Aer Lingus and of its apparently late decision to hold a ballot, and it also claimed the ballot itself had been flawed.

“We have good reason to be concerned that officials of this union indicated or signalled to our employer that our pay and conditions of employment could be amended without holding a ballot,” said the petition, adding that the elected cabin crew committee had been excluded from key meetings and discussions that could have led to changes in their pay and conditions “in perpetuity”.

The petition said that the handling of the situation by the union, particularly in comparison to similar situations at other Fórsa branches, had meant “inadequate time was left for appropriate consideration and agreement” and “this ill-judged behaviour of officials has left us at a considerable disadvantage with Aer Lingus”.

But the Fórsa spokesman said that the union had not agreed with the company that no ballot would take place and that it does not accept the petition’s criticisms of the staff and officials concerned “who have worked tirelessly to represent and protect the interests of cabin crew throughout this extremely difficult time”.

He said the context of the talks with the airline was that it was operating at below 5pc of normal activity and he said that “both the officials and Cabin Crew Branch Committee members have the full confidence of the union”. “No Fórsa official has the power to deny a ballot, or to bind union members to an agreement without their consent. Neither happened in this case,” he said.

But the petition claimed that some members had not received any ballot paper, while others had received more than one. The Fórsa spokesman said that no evidence has been received by the union to back up the petition’s assertion and no specific complaint from any members had been received about the conduct of the ballot.