This article is from page 11 of the 2008-09-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
COMPARISONS _ between – staff costs at Aer Lingus and Ryanair are “not realistic” a Clare councillor has warned.
Figures published in newspaper re- ports last week suggested that airline staff were earning an average salary of £83,000.
Newmarket-on-Fergus Councillor, Pat McMahon said that the figure was produced by dividing the wage
bill of Aer Lingus by the number of staff employed.
“This is on a par with calculating the average pay of a Microsoft staff member by including Bill Gates for- tune in the calculation,’ Cllr McMa- hon said.
The councillor said that airline staff had contacted him to voice their fears that the publication of the figures 1s part of a plan to soften up Shannon for further cuts.
Cllr McMahon said at a meeting of the mid-west regional authority that comparisons with Ryanair were last made when Aer Lingus announced they were moving the Heathrow slots to Belfast, pointing to Ryanair’s costs at Shannon while citing bigger profits to be made in Belfast.
According to the councillor, Aer Lingus staff believe that jobs and remaining services are “constantly under threat”.
“Decisions on Shannon are be- ing made in Dublin and Cork with- out Shannon having an opportunity to speak up and make its case,’ the councillor said.