Workers say airline has left them without pay
Tony Purcell
ANGRY AB Airlines workers at Shannon Airport claimed yesterday they had been left in limbo and stranded without wages by the company’s decision to cease operations on the Shannon London route.
Some 30 AB staff staged a protest to highlight their plight and demand action from the Irish Government as to their redundancy entitlements from the independent airline.
“We are angry and upset at the lack of respect AB had for all the staff at Shannon. No one from the company had the decency to call a meeting and tell us we were going to be put on the dole,’’ said Seamus Hogan, a member of the AB Shannon Cabin Crew staff for over three years.
“The first the majority of the staff heard of AB Airlines pull out from Shannon was on the television and radio on Wednesday evening. The company is still operating out of Gatwick, but we have been unable to make contact with management in London.”
Mr Hogan said the staff had been told on July 30 that AB Airlines had gone into administration and that there were five prospective buyers for the company.
“We knew the company was going through a rocky patch. All the staff in Shannon had given 110% effort to make the company successful.
“Now the staff have been left without wages, duty free commission, flight allowances or redundancy entitlements. It’s an absolute disgrace.
“We have been told that unless we get official documentation like P 45, redundancy notice from the English company we are not entitled under Irish law to draw social welfare.’’
The money owed to the staff by the company is believed to run into thousands of pounds.
Mr Hogan said: “We are not going to give up without a fight. We want our just rewards from AB Airlines. We have not worked for three and a half years for 16 hours a day and not get paid for our efforts.”
Meanwhile, Aer Rianta Shannon said that they would be extremely sympathetic to the plight of the AB staff and would be disappointed if they were not treated properly by the company.
An AB aircraft is still being detained at Shannon against outstanding debts by way of charges and services due by the airline to Aer Rianta. The amount involved is said to be substantial.
Many passengers who arrived at Shannon intending to fly back to London with AB Airlines were looked after by Aer Rianta.
© The Examiner, 1999