Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response is a bitter disappointment. It indicates to me that he and his colleagues have not listened to what the electorate had to say over the past number of days.

The reality is that the State shareholding when combined with that of the staff equates to a 40% shareholding, which is the largest shareholding. In this instance both interests should be at one. However, it appears from the Minister's response they are not. The Minister has sought to blame the staff for the situation. While everybody regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers, unfortunately that is a consequence of the intransigence of management over the past three years. While the Minister has welcomed that IMPACT has agreed to return to talks he made no reference to the desperate attempts over the past years to secure talks and engagement with the company, all of which were blatantly refused. The only conclusion one can draw from this is that the blame for this situation rests with management. What other option is there for people? Does the Minister believe it is acceptable for women and men in a modern economy to be required to go to work and not know at what time they will finish, to not have legitimate breaks and to work to a roster which takes no account of their need to care for their children and families?

All the staff are seeking is the putting in place of a structured arrangement similar to that which is available to their pilot colleagues and staff of other airlines. If the result of this is an inconvenience to passengers and a loss of revenue for the company, the question that must be asked is why then is management pushing it? The only conclusion that can be reached is that this is a management seeking to break a unionised workforce. The chief executive of Aer Lingus sits on a pension pot which the Minister has deemed excessive and voted against paying him bonuses. The chief executive therefore has a cheek to inconvenience passengers and, more importantly, workers in this situation. The reality is that the Minister can do something about this. He can send out the message that it is not acceptable for managers, particularly those of companies in which the State has a shareholding, to treat workers in this way.

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