This article is from page 22 of the 2009-09-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
THERE was further bad news for Shannon Airport this week with revelations that the airport services provider, Servisair, 1s looking to put staff on short time.
Servisair workers received a letter from the company’s human resources manager in Ireland to say that hours were being reduced “in order to re- main competitive and viable in an ever-challenging environment”’.
Full-time staff are being reduced to a three-day week, while part-time staff will go on a 20-hour week.
Servisair could not be reached for comment on the matter, but a SIPTU representative confirmed that “cer- tain proposals” are being made by management which the union and esexO MELB D OTSA
Servisair staff look after most of the baggage handling operations at Shannon Airport but a spokeswoman for the airport authority said that the
matter is not affecting any operations at the airport.
Meanwhile, the Aer Lingus deci- sion not to use the US Customs Pre- Clearance Facility at Shannon until 2010 for operation reasons has again attracted criticism.
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has said that management at Aer Lingus “have questions to answer”.
He said: “It beggars belief that any company operating at a loss in the current climate would not avail of
opportunities to increase revenue and add value to its business. I cannot un- derstand the Aer Lingus decision to snub the US Pre Clearance Facility at Shannon, particularly when other major airlines have jumped at the chance to use the service.”
His party colleague Pat Breen has blasted Aer Lingus for having al- legedly sacked staff over the phone, with a text followed by a phone call and called on the company to im- mediately review its communication
procedures.
The airline sent text messages to telling around 60 staff that a sig- nificant jobs announcement was due, before informing them by telephone that their positions were being termi- nated.
A spokeswoman for the airline said the situation has been taken out of context.
She said the contracts do not affect any Shannon staff and applied only to Dublin and Cork crews.