Aer Lingus pilots dispute
Deputy Murphy backed Aer Lingus pilots in their pay dispute and criticised wage erosion alongside large executive pay rises and company profits. Deputy Humphreys urged both sides to use the Labour Court to resolve the dispute.
I want to express the solidarity of People Before Profit-Solidarity with the Aer Lingus pilots who have begun their action today. These are workers who have not had a pay rise since 2019. The cost-of-living crisis has seen their wages being eroded by at least 24%. They are simply looking for their wages to go back, in real terms, to what they were in 2019. It should be noted that since then, senior executives at Aer Lingus have had pay increases of 66%. Aer Lingus does not like to talk about the enormous profits that are being made in Ireland. Aer Lingus made €225 million last year and its parent group, the International Airlines Group made an incredible €3.5 billion last year. This is a story of corporate greed and corporate profiteering. They can afford to pay their workers a decent wage and they should be pressured to do so.
Comment on this
As the Deputy knows, the industrial relations machinery of the State is the Labour Court, which has a long history of resolving disputes.
I urge both parties to use the Labour Court to find a resolution to this issue.