27 May 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
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Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has called on the Government to stand up for workers at Cork Airport, and to engage with Aer Lingus to ensure that no jobs are lost.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Cork South Central TD said:
“The reality is, that aviation will take some time to recover.
“A number of measures will be vitally important, including the Digital Green Cert and increased funding for our airport over the next number of years.
“But crucially, subsidies such as the EWSS must be continued for workers who are returning to work on limited hours or on limited contracts.
“I am extremely disappointed that Aer Lingus has not decided to use the EWSS to keep workers employed over the course of the 10 weeks that staff are to be temporarily laid off in Cork. Aer Lingus have an obligation to their workers, they cannot leave them high and dry for 5 pay packets.
“In the Dáil, I once again urged the Government to put pressure on Aer Lingus to keep these workers on under the EWSS scheme, and to provide whatever supports are necessary to make this happen. The Government cannot leave these workers behind.
“However Government also must answer here – their failure to provide a roadmap for aviation up until now is not good enough. The Government needs to be ready to roll out the Digital green cert for air travel. We also need to safeguard jobs in Cork airport into the future, by increasing and extending OpEx and CapEx funding, for three years minimum and continuation of income supports for aviation workers.”
