Hundreds of Aer Lingus workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a row over cost-cutting measures at the airline.
SIPTU members voted by 95% in favour of the action which could begin by the end of the month. The union has said it will not enter talks at the Labour Relations Commission until the company suspends its cost-cutting measures which have already been introduced for new staff.
The union says the company is in breach of existing agreements to negotiate for change and that the matter should be referred straight to the Labour Court. The IMPACT trade union is also expected to ballot for industrial action.
Aer Lingus management said it was disappointed with the result of today's ballot and again urged all staff groups to go into discussions on its Programme for Continuous Improvement.
Earlier Aer Lingus said it was cutting its fuel surcharge by 25% on long-haul flights to the US and the Middle East after the price of oil fell. The reductions come into effect on bookings made from midnight.
The surcharge, introduced last May, was €40 for each leg of a return flight to the US adding €80 to the cost of a round trip. A similar charge applied to the airline's new route to Dubai and the additional cost to Los Angeles was €45 each way.
Dermot Mannion, Aer Lingus CEO, said that when the fuel surcharge was first introduced last May, the airline assured customers it would be kept under active review.
The airline said it currently has hedges in place - where it fixes the price it pays to reduces exposure to fluctuations in prices - for around 55% of its fuel requirements for the rest of this year, at prices ranging from $58-72 per barrel. Aer Lingus said it would continue to monitor the cost of fuel prices and would revise its surcharge should the cost of fuel decrease further.
Aer Lingus shares closed down five cent at €2.80 in Dublin.
