Workers and management at Shannon Aerospace have played down the possibility of job losses at the aircraft maintenance company after a Labour Court recommendation aimed at resolving a dispute over the management’s plans to close the defined benefit pension scheme was overwhelmingly rejected by the workforce.
Over 500 workers are employed by the company which was established at Shannon in 1990 and is now owned by the Lufthansa Technik corporation.
The company had announced that it would cease making contributions to the pension scheme, which is solvent, from 3 February but the Labour Court recommended that both sides should maintain the status quo for two months to allow for negotiations.
Although it had been accepted by management, the recommendation was rejected by 92 per cent of staff.
A company spokeswoman said the board would be considering the ballot result over the weekend and was willing to talk to the unions in accordance with the Labour Court recommendation.
While SIPTU has not issued a formal statement, union sources insisted there was no threat to jobs and described the situation as being in a “cooling-off period” until Monday evening.
