Labour Court recommends 17.75% pay rise for Aer Lingus pilots

Aer Lingus should increase pilots’ pay by 17.75%, according to recommendations by the Irish Labour Court.

It comes amid a high-profile industrial relations dispute which has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations.

The proposal follows meetings at the Labour Court involving representatives from Aer Lingus and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa).

If implemented, the pay deal would cover a four-year period from January 1 2023 to the end of 2026.

Ialpa officers and representatives from the Forsa trade union are considering the non-binding recommendations.

The pilots had initially been seeking a pay increase of 24%, which they say equates to inflation since the last pay rise in 2019.

However, Ialpa later said that it would be willing to consider a lower pay increase.

But it accused Aer Lingus of not making a similar compromise to move from its offer of 12.25%, without requests for pilots to improve productivity.

The pilots’ group also rejected a previous interim Labour Court recommendation for pay increases of 9.25% last month.

Aer Lingus has cancelled hundreds of flights during the pilots’ indefinite work-to-rule, which began at the end of June, in an effort to protect services from the “highly disruptive” industrial action.

In a statement on Monday, the airline said: “Aer Lingus will carefully review the final recommendation of the Labour Court.

“The company will confirm its position following completion of that review.”

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) urged Aer Lingus and the pilots to accept the terms of the recommendation.

Clare Dunne, chief executive of the ITAA, said: “Disputes all end sooner or later – it is within their power to end it now.”