SIPTU members in Aer Lingus have voted by a margin of over 80% to take industrial action up to and including strike action if management proceeds with making over 1,300 of their members redundant without agreement.
Aer Lingus wants to implement a €74m cost-cutting package, which would include outsourcing ground operations, shutting cabin crew bases in Shannon and Heathrow, and using American crews on some transatlantic routes.
If fully implemented, the measures would shave €50m from its staff costs.
SIPTU National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said: 'We regret the disruption to the public that will almost certainly begin before 1 December and I want to stress that we remain open to enter a talks process to resolve this dispute with management.
'We will now be serving notice of industrial action immediately. We call on management to avert mass disruption to the travelling public by entering talks with us now.'
Aer Lingus said it was disappointed with the result of the ballot.
Yesterday, Chief Executive Dermot Mannion warned that the company's €74m cost-cutting programme is unstoppable and irreversible.
He set a deadline of 15 December for staff to accept voluntary severance or early retirement.
Despite the recent fall in oil prices, Mr Mannion confirmed last night that Aer Lingus still anticipates losses of over €20m for 2008.
Falling consumer demand will trigger further losses next year.
He says that means proceeding within a few weeks with his €74m cost-cutting package - with the loss of up to 1,500 direct employees.
As well as severance and early retirement, there are also options to transfer to new suppliers providing outsourced ground services. Those third party suppliers will be selected within days.
In a separate ballot, 97% of SIPTU members affected by the redundancy plans voted to invoke collective redundancy legislation enacted after the Irish Ferries controversy if management proceeds with its plans to replace them with outsourced labour.
Earlier, the Minister for Transport said Aer Lingus needs to remain competitive and costs have to be cut.
Noel Dempsey said that both management and unions need to sit down together and, through the labour relations machinery of the State, work out what has to be done.
Speaking in Trim, the Minister said the aviation industry is going through huge difficulties with airlines closing and others facing threats of closure.
He said: 'People need to sit down and reach a decision on the future.'
While Minister Dempsey said he would not get involved in the discussions between the unions and management. He warned 'we don't have forever' and that a decision needs to be reached 'very, very quickly'.
