Labour Court recommends qualification payments for trained Cork Airport ramp workers

The Labour Court recommended that Aer Lingus Limited Trading As Aer Lingus pay qualifying Cork Airport ramp operatives the qualification payments set out in the Dublin Blueprint Agreement. The recommendation, dated 15 September 2016, applies retrospectively from 1 January 2016 to workers who completed the required training and performed the covered duties. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought extra pay for Cork workers performing headset, marshalling, pushback and aircraft towing duties. It argued that Cork and Dublin workers carried out the same functions, while Cork workers had to be flexible. Aer Lingus said the airports and the work differed, including because of congestion and the level of towing at Dublin Airport.