Communist Party Of Ireland Expresses Solidarity With Aer Lingus Workers As 500 Jobs At Risk

The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) has expressed its solidarity with the workers and families affected after news that Aer Lingus is preparing for mass layoffs, while noting that it is urging Irish trade unions to demand nationalisation. The Irish company is cutting corners, leading to a loss of 500 jobs. The company claims the changes ‘are essential to support required improvement in its operating margin, which is needed to underpin future investment’.

As the U.S pushed ahead with its imperialist war of aggression against Iran in order to counter-balance the tendency of the falling rate of profit, fuel prices skyrocketed, while the FF/FG-imposed austerity policies have made the cost of living higher. Aer Lingus is facing ‘higher fuel costs and a reduction in air fares as people hedge their travel plans amid the current increases in the cost of living’, which undercuts their profit margins. As such, the economic dialectic is pushing job losses, as a result of the world-economy, while the Irish State, owing to its neoliberal politics, shies away from intervention and leaves it up to the market to balance out. 

However, Fórsa, the trade union, pointed out that despite the state of the world-economy, Aer Lingus still ‘has the 5th highest operating margin of any airline in Europe’. ‘Aer Lingus is the 9th most profitable in Europe. These cuts are being made because they made 11.1% profit last year, when self-imposed targets are 12%. The EU average is 4-6% profit, so Aer Lingus is at least double that, ‘ they pointed out. They called on Aer Lingus management to engage in ‘genuine and solution-focused’ consultation with workers’ representatives. 

“The communist party supports trade unions in opposing compulsory redundancies but urges unions to demand nationalisation, “ read the CPI’s statement. 

“These proposed redundancies are not simply about one airline. They are another warning that Ireland remains dangerously vulnerable to decisions taken outside the country. Coming after the uncertainty surrounding Aughinish Alumina and job reductions across multinational corporations, they expose a deeper structural weakness in the Irish economy: too many strategic decisions affecting Irish workers are made in overseas boardrooms, according to the priorities of international shareholders rather than the needs of Irish society, “ it continued, also noting that unemployment has risen to 5% in Ireland, with more than 145,000 people out of work, while youth unemployment stands at almost 11%.

“An economy built upon dependence on foreign capital is inevitably vulnerable to global economic shifts over which Irish workers and communities have little or no democratic control, “ the statement continued, noting that the “announcement at Aer Lingus is another reminder that Ireland needs a coherent national industrial strategy based on democratic planning, public investment, and economic sovereignty”. 

“The Communist Party of Ireland reiterates its call for an economic model that places workers, communities, and national development before shareholder returns. Ireland’s future cannot continue to depend upon decisions taken in boardrooms beyond the democratic control of its people, “ the statement concluded. 

The CPI also noted that Aer Lingus is Ireland’s national airline and a strategic asset, which is important to the economy in terms of connectivity, tourism, trade and skilled employment. The CPI said that its future should be guided by Ireland’s national interest, not by the shareholder priorities of a multinational parent company. As such, the State must therefore be prepared to intervene in the matter at hand, which could potentially affect up to 500 Irish jobs.