Flights from Irish airports will be disrupted on Wednesday because of a labour dispute following the suspension of air traffic controllers for refusing to adopt new work practices, Reuters quoted union and aviation officialsas saying. The Irish Aviation Authority said in a statement it had suspended controllers who refused to carry out "normal assigned duties" and flights from all airports were likely to be affected. Irish airline Ryanair said it was cancelling 48 flights on Wednesday, affecting more than 6,000 passengers, as a result of the dispute. Ireland's largest public sector union IMPACT said 15 controllers had been suspended so far and its members would take disruptive action, beginning with mandatory union meetings on Wednesday. These will take place between 2 p.m. (1400 GMT) and 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Dublin airport and Shannon in the west and between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Cork in the south. Dublin airport is the headquarters of Aer Lingus and Ryanair and Shannon is an important stop-over for flights to the United States. IMPACT had already notified the Irish government that from next Monday, its members would halt any duties performed outside contract in protest at government austerity plans. But, as the public has grudgingly accepted the need for austerity measures to curb a budget deficit of nearly 12 percent of gross domestic product, few are expecting a repeat of November's national public sector strike. The Irish Aviation Authority, a semi-state body, said it believed the union's real agenda was to seek a pay increase and defend public sector pensions. Michael Landers, assistant general secretary of IMPACT, said those issues were being dealt with separately and the warning of wider action from next Monday was also separate from the air traffic controllers' dispute. Irish and British airports have been subject to repeated closures and delays since late December because of bad weather.
