This article is from page 15 of the 2006-11-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
UNIONS have welcomed the decision of Aer Lingus worker/shareholders at Shannon and Dublin to reject the Ryanair offer for their shares.
The no-frills airline’s €1.4 billion bid for Aer Lingus is now almost certainly history after 97 per cent of Employee Share Ownership Trust(Esot) members voted against the bid with a turnout of 70 per cent.
The two main unions, SIPTU and IMPACT, have welcomed the employees decision. A statement from Impact said that the employees would not accept a take-over by Ryanair “at any price . . .The bid by Ryanair held nothing for the workers, the consumers or the airline and its defeat is a rejection not only of Ryanair’s employment practices, but it is a victory for common sense and consumer choice.”
Impact, which represents Aer Lingus cabin crew, pilots and middle managers said members were right to reject the take-over. Both IMPACT and SIPTU have nominees on the trust that runs ESOT. The situation could make for uneasy bedfellows in a shareholder relationship. The ESOT will hold a 12 per cent stake while Ryanair will hold a 19.2 per cent stake.
Ryanair has so far made no move to take up the board seats and has said that it will make its views known at annual general meetings. O’Leary’s airline is pressing ahead with its bid, despite the result of the vote. It is planning on convening an extraordinary general meeting on December 14 to get approval for the acquisition. But it is possible that the offer may be withdrawn before that.