Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Aer Lingus asked its cabin crew to accept a four-year pay freeze, new yellow-pack starting rates and cuts to both sick pay and duty allowances. Staff are being told: "Go back in the sky, wear a sunny smile and put your lipstick on, but do not forgot the hair shirt." To the credit of the workers, they voted by 80%-plus to reject that package. The company has now threatened these mainly women workers with a unilateral imposition of even more draconian terms, including temporary lay-offs for senior staff and freezing the pay of those senior staff at 60% of what it was previously. Similar retaliation is expected against ground staff should the result of their ballot, expected tonight, also be a "No".

What kind of message does it send to the country if front-line workers who kept this country connected through 18 months of a pandemic are allowed to be treated in this way? What does it say about the Government if it allows that? The State pays a large share of this company's wage bill through the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS. The State provided Aer Lingus with €150 million in debt funding in February through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Is the Government prepared to use the leverage this provides it with to protect these workers from such abuse? If not, why not?

The airline industry was hit hard by the pandemic but Aer Lingus had €900 million in reserve when it began. The tide is now starting to turn in aviation. Last week, Michael O'Leary said that Ryanair flew 67% of its normal passenger numbers in August and forecast a dramatic increase in holiday tourism next year. Airlines will seek to make up for lost profits in a post-pandemic world and this can come not merely at the expense of their workers but also that of less profitable routes.

Can the Tánaiste guarantee that Aer Lingus will continue to provide the level of connectivity the Irish people need and deserve? Are the 23 Heathrow slots guaranteed? The US is opening up in November. Shannon Airport remains closed. Will all the routes from Ireland to US cities be restarted and guaranteed into the future? I do not think the Tánaiste can guarantee that they will be. An airline which shows such lack of loyalty to its staff cannot be relied upon to show loyalty to the country either. Aer Lingus's bottom line is to serve the interests of shareholders not the interests of the Irish people. For this reason, I support the renationalisation of Aer Lingus. The Aer Lingus unions should support and campaign for this position too. Where does the Government stand on that issue and, crucially, where does it stand on the rights of workers in a company so heavily subsidised by this State?

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