Unions spurn Ryanair advance

Following the rejection by Aer Lingus of the takeover offer by Ryanair, both SIPTU which represents ground staff and IMPACT which represents cabin crew have rejected Ryanair's latest takeover offer. Niall Shanahan, communications officer with IMPACT said that the Ryanair corporate culture is anathema to their members. To date, Aer Lingus has rejected the Ryanair offer on the basis that it undervalues the business and the unions have responded that they already have recognition at the airline so yesterday's Ryanair offer of union recognition doesn't propose anything that they don't already have. The key to the success or failure of the latest bid will probably hinge on how the government react to a formal proposal from Ryanair which will be on the table in the next two weeks. This time lag gives ample opportunity for the government to sound out Brussels' reaction, which could well change this time round given the current state of the worldwide airline business. Ryanair may well have seen the government shareholding as the easier of the two ( government / employee ) to swing in their favour and given the current state of the Irish economy who would bet against them ?