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The Minister of Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, has accused Aer Lingus management of failing to provide the necessary documentation to ensure that employees can claim social assistance rights.
Ms. Humphreys said she was not aware of any other company that had difficulty addressing the problem of employees with reduced work hours.
Many thousands of companies have switched to the labor wage subsidy scheme (EWSS) without any impact on their employees, he said.
“Therefore, it is difficult to understand how an organization the size of Aer Lingus, with a dedicated HR department, has had trouble interpreting the criteria related to EWSS and short-term work when many small businesses across the country do not. have had that problem. . “
The minister said the company had confirmed on Thursday that Aer Lingus would provide its employees with any pending documentation necessary to finalize an application for job seeker support on an urgent basis.
Ms. Humphreys acknowledged the “enormous stress” faced by employees and shared the frustration of the Opposition TDs as to why the company had not provided confirmation of working days earlier.
“I hope Aer Lingus management will fully communicate with the staff regarding this matter and provide them with the necessary documentation.”
The minister promised that her officials would prioritize Aer Lingus requests and that they would be updated in early September when the new EWSS started.
Ms. Humphreys was responding to the TDs from Sinn Féin who raised the plight of workers who were unable to access their welfare rights because the company had not provided documentation confirming the days they worked and the days they did not work.
Employees were put in two- and three-day weeks after the aviation sector collapsed in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mortgage
Sinn Féin company spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly cited a case in which an employee had received only 250 euros for two weeks of work and was unable to pay the mortgage or other bills because Aer Lingus had refused to sign the documentation. necessary.
He said Intreo offices had not received any clarity from Aer Lingus and its head of social protection on how to process any of the claims.
TD Claire Kerrane of Roscommon-Galway said there were “six months when workers didn’t know their earnings from week to week.”
Meath East TD Darren O’Rourke said the company told employees it was getting “mixed messages from Revenue and Intreo.”
However, Ms. Humphreys noted that “my department has clarified to Aer Lingus on several occasions the details that are required.”
In a statement late Thursday, Aer Lingus said it sought clarity from the Department of Employment and Social Protection (DEASP) on a number of key issues weeks before the start of the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) on how the plan. he would operate, and he could not receive that clarity.
“Aer Lingus then wrote directly to Minister Humphreys on September 7 regarding these issues,” the spokeswoman said. “While the minister did not respond personally to inquiries, Aer Lingus had constructive discussions with her department during which the requested clarity was provided.”
It said Aer Lingus had acted “at all times in accordance with the guidance provided by DEASP and the Commissioners of Revenue.”
“We believe that the issues related to the EWSS have now been resolved and an agreed process has been established with DEASP,” he said.
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