By Niamh Connolly

The bitter experience of former Team Aer Lingus staff awarded "letters of comfort" should serve as a warning to Aer Rianta staff after the company's break-up, according to John Tierney, national secretary of the Amicus union.

About 50 Aer Lingus craftsworkers who transferred to Team Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport in 1990 received letters of comfort on job security, endorsed by Seamus Brennan as minister for tourism and transport.

However, a recent High Court case found the guarantees contained in the letters to be unenforceable. The technical workers union, Amicus, is now considering action in the Supreme Court.

The formerTeam staffopted to return to Aer Lingus after Team was sold to FLS, but were allocated clerical and general operative work including baggage handling, catering and cleaning posts.

The judgment awarded an unprecedented four years' salary to the former Aer Lingus workers for lost earnings between 1998 and 2002 after they returned to the carrier.The figure is double the limit permitted in the Employment AppealsTribunal for dismissal cases.

However, the judgment did not accept that the workers were entitled to be contracted back to their previous posts, and included no damages for breach of contract.

In a letter of comfort seen by this newspaper, the company stated that "your rights, privileges and seniority as a staff member of Aer Lingus will be continued on the same basis as apply to all other Aer Lingus staff.

Tierney, said: "This was the minister at the time who gave that letter of comfort.

"He's now offering something similar. Excuse our scepticism."

However, a spokesman for the minister said he had clarified in detail that, at no time, had he or the unions used the term "jobs for life".The minister had said that the terms and conditions of employment in the new company would be "no lesser" than at Aer Rianta.