The Labour Court recommended that Aer Lingus keep the voluntary severance scheme open to 18 workers associated with the claim for the duration of its Boeing 757 lease. The recommendation, signed on 6 May 2014, followed a dispute over staffing at the airline’s Shannon maintenance base. Unite / SIPTU argued that a 2012 agreement envisaged 13 long-term positions in Shannon and objected to the reduction in staffing and the use of an outside contractor for B757 maintenance. Aer Lingus said a damp-lease arrangement reduced the need for engineering jobs at Shannon. The Court said there was no practical basis to concede the unions’ primary claim that Aer Lingus carry out the B757 maintenance itself, but accepted their alternative claim for continued access to the severance scheme.