As as their dispute over pension entitlements escalates, SIPTU trade union members at the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, including all out strike.
Staff at the airline have been unsuccessfully seeking to have their employer deal with the significant deficit in the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) for several years.
SIPTU Pension Policy Advisor, Dermot O’Loughlin said that in two ballots, 98 per cent and 96 per cent of the membership voted in favour of taking industrial and strike action respectively.
“This demonstrates that staff at the SAA are angry, disillusioned and frustrated that an acceptable resolution has not been found to the pensions crisis.
“Before proceeding further, we will now be moving to consult with those of our members who are not in the IASS scheme and have no proper pension provision at all. We will be seeking to ascertain their views as to how to best further their interests in relation to pensions. We will also be consulting with the other trade unions in the company before proceeding with any type of action.
“It is the view of the Pensions Committee that this situation has come about as a consequence of the intransigence and procrastination of the Trustees of the Scheme, the Regulatory Authority and the company that has forced the membership into this very serious position”, Mr O’Loughlin said.
