DAA expected to announce up to 350 job losses

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) which manages the three state airports of Dublin, Cork and Shannon is expected to announce 350 job losses, including 80 managers at it's airports as part of it's €70m cost cutting plan. The company employ a total of 3,600 at the three airports. The job losses are expected to be to be announced this week in the wake of the decision by the Labour Court that the company should pay €3m in increments following the resolution of a dispute with unions representing the employees. As part of it's judgement the Labour Court told the unions that they could expect that the DAA to implement cost savings "of a similar value to the increments". 

The DAA first rang the warning bells on job losses when it announced it's results for 2008 which saw a 28pc drop in profit for the year. In it's decision, the Labour Court recommended that the increments be paid in return for a clear commitment from the unions to engage in discussions with the DAA on a cost cutting program.

In early March the union SIPTU were compromised when it's aviation branch served strike notice on the DAA in relation to the payment of increments in spite of the fact that ICTU (Irish Congress of Trade Unions) had called off a national strike in order to return to the negotiating table with the social partners. SIPTU's General President Jack O'Connor had to intervene to have the strike threat withdrawn.

Posted 090505