Fórsa, the union which represents several thousand aviation workers is calling for German-style income supports for aviation jobs.
Amid ongoing restrictions on air travel, the union said that Ireland lacks a European-style joined up Government approach to ensure the survival of the aviation industry post-pandemic.
Fórsa is proposing an aviation income support scheme similar to the one in place in Germany, which enables employers to reduce hours rather than laying off staff.
The Government there is providing 60% income replacement for the time employees can't work.
Fórsa said it also wants engagement with mortgage providers on enhanced mortgage breaks for the duration of the Covid-related slump in aviation.
Kevin Callinan, Fórsa General Secretary, said he would raise the union’s proposals at a meeting of the Government employer union high-level forum, the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), when it meets next week.
"The Government needs to act with aviation stakeholders and act now, to prevent widespread lay-offs in advance of a second 'lost summer,' and to ensure the survival of an industry that underpins Ireland’s connectivity and supports tens of thousands of Irish livelihoods.
Mr Callinan said that governments across Europe have acted to protect airline and aviation jobs "far more decisively" than in Ireland.
"The Government's slowness to engage fully with stakeholders, and to implement recommendations from its Taskforce on Aviation and the December 2020 report of the Oireachtas transport committee, are placing an entire industry at risk," he said.
