SIPTU members at Aer Lingus have voted by almost 80% to accept the alternative cost savings plan to outsourcing over 1,300 jobs at the national airline.
The turnout was 80%, delivering a clear overall majority in favour of the proposals.
'It is now a matter for the company to evaluate the options each individual has made under the alternative cost savings plan to see if it provides a viable option,' National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said this evening after the conclusion of the ballot. 'Staff members have up until 5pm tomorrow to notify the company of their preferred options.'
As members choose their preferred options, SIPTU will evaluate the savings achieved. Eugene McMahon of Mazars will help with the analysis.
Mr McCormack called today's vote the 'first step towards preventing the outsourcing of over 1,300 jobs and securing the long term viability of Aer Lingus'.
The company needs 7% of staff in Cork and Dublin, and 35% of staff in Shannon to leave. It also needs half of the remaining staff to migrate onto the new terms and conditions provided for to achieve the cost savings necessary.
Earlier the union said yesterday's Ryanair bid to take over the airline would not affect the outcome of the ballot.
Last night Mr McCormack said that he thought Ryanair's latest bid to take over the company would have little or no effect on the ballot, except to make members even more determined than ever to defend decent pay and conditions within the aviation sector.
Mr McCormack said that given Ryanair's track record, he thought Michael O'Leary's claims about fleet expansion and job creation would carry little credibility.
