The High Court has granted injunctions by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Ryanair, blocking a SIPTU aviation strike to take place on 14 March. As previously reported in this newsletter, the aviation workers, DAA, Ryanair and Aerlingus have been in an industrial conflict over a deficit in the aviation pension schemes. When new negotiations failed, SIPTU balloted its members and announced more industrial actions. The DAA and Ryanair then sought injunctions on the basis of an expert panel currently studying the case and the strike being disproportional because of its having been scheduled for one of the busiest weekends in the year. The court ruled that there are questions about the validity of the ballot and strike action because it was not restricted to members of the pension fund and moved to block the strike. Following the ruling, SIPTU confirmed it would cancel the strike action. The DAA and Ryanair have welcomed the decision, but Aerlingus said that damages had already been incurred and that it would sue SIPTU for compensation.
English: http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0314/602264-aer-lingus-sues-siptu-for-damages/
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0312/601718-siptu-ruling/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/daa-and-ryanair-seek-injunctions ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.