I have to say that in this discussion, as DrKev says, it is really important to remember the Irish Ferries scenario. Have a read of the link he posted. That, in my opinion, is the real threat from Aer Lingus management. In this race to the bottom, it has become acceptable to completely ignore the effect on current staff. The argument always is that the new staff are willing to accept the lower terms and conditions so where is the problem. The word Ryanair is a perfect answer.
Irish Ferries went to the trouble of re-registering their vessels abroad so that they would not even be required to pay the new staff the Irish minimum wage. All who watched the saga unfold were angry and insulted that an Irish company could attempt such a flagrant abuse of new employees, by offering them a package that was designed to be attractive when compared to their extremely low average wage in their home country, but which would have been illegal under Irish law. It became worse when it was apparent that the existing employees would need to move out to make room for these cheap staff. At least with Irish Ferries, the management had an argument that Irish Ferries would be unable to survive otherwise as passenger traffic had dropped to record low levels.
Aer Lingus is a profitable company and has been for a few years now since 2001. There is no need to offer new T's & C's for survival, only for profit maximisation. That existing employees should be put at risk in the name of good business, those same employees who have been flying the green machines for decades and therefore are also responsible for the positive position the company is currently in, is outrageous. A few years ago, Bank of Ireland recorded the highest annual profit in their history. Then they announced that were laying off 1,800 staff to reduce costs. How can you possibly condone that behaviour?
What is the difference between a company which re-registers itself to another country so that it can undercut the pay at it's home base and one which explains that no other country's local market deserves the same package as Ireland? Aer Lingus are covering their real intentions with the MO'L type spin of it being in accordance with the local market. Do you ever think they would find a country where the local market warrants a package better than that on offer in Dublin? Of course not. It is a smoke screen to a desire to get away with as much as possible. This is about more than business. Ethics are involved here too. Unfortunately that is a concept that modern society is finding hard to recall.