The chief executive of Aer Lingus Dermot Mannion has said he is confident agreement can been reached with unions on cost cutting changes to staff contracts.
Mr Mannion was responding to the decision by the two main unions at the airline to ballot for industrial action.
The decision followed a letter from management which said the changes must be implemented for new staff by February 1 and for existing staff by March 1.
The new contracts would mean fewer holidays and less pay for overtime. SIPTU and IMPACT said the latest move by the company was in breach of current agreements to negotiate with staff.
In his letter to the unions yesterday, Mr Mannion pointed to employee terms which he said were uncompetitive and, if left unaddressed, would result in an increase in staff costs per passenger.
He said that while progress on addressing costs has been made in recent years, there are critical areas where the airlines continues to be out of line with competitors.
The biggest unions at the airline, IMPACT and SIPTU, have accused management of breaking promises made prior to the airline's being listed on then stock exchange.
They said the row will lead to industrial action if changes are made without agreement. The unions have referred the dispute to the Labour Relations Commission.
