Ryanair hails ‘successful’ first union talks

“Ryanair this evening had a positive and successful meeting with its Irish pilots union council and their union representatives,” a company spokesman told AFP.

The talks on home soil were the first since Ryanair on Friday offered to recognise unions, prompting the suspension of strike action planned over the festive period.

Described by Ryanair as “the first step in the union recognition process”, the Dublin talks received a cautious response from unions Impact and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA).

“While Ryanair management said they recognised Impact/IALPA for collective bargaining purposes at this evening’s meeting, they said they were unable to give the union a piece of paper to confirm this.

“This is disappointing given all that’s been said in the media over the last five days,” they said in a joint statement.

The unions said they gave Ryanair a series of proposals to consider and requested a response by midday (1200 GMT) on Thursday, a schedule which the no-frills airline has not yet committed to.

Irish-based Ryanair pilots suspended a one-day strike planned for Wednesday ahead of the talks, although their representatives warned further industrial action could be announced “in the absence of a timely agreement”.

Tuesday’s talks have already avoided a strike over Christmas, however, as a seven-day notice period is required under Irish law.

– Historic change –

The Dublin meeting marks the opening of a season of talks for Ryanair, which will meet German and Portuguese pilots this week before other appointments around Europe in early 2018.

Pilots in Italy and Portugal have also halted recently threatened walk-outs after Ryanair said it would recognise unions for the first time in the airline’s 32-year history.

The low-cost carrier said it was making the move to avoid “widespread customer disruptions over Christmas”.

“Christmas flights are very important to our customers and we wish to remove any worry or concern that they may be disrupted by pilot industrial action,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said in a statement announcing a conditional offer to recognise pilot unions in Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The decision marks a historic turning point for Ryanair, given that O’Leary — in charge since 1994 — had vehemently opposed any union representation for staff.

He faced pressure after the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights over botched holiday scheduling.

The fiasco triggered pilots’ demands for better working conditions and representation, with some departing for other carriers.

Hinting at a conspiracy by its competitors, Ryanair initially insisted it had no recruitment issues as it pursues the goal of transporting 200 million passengers annually by 2024.

While management acknowledged the episode had “damaged” its image, O’Leary offered pilots some improvements in pay and conditions, including bonuses to those who would waive part of their vacation.

But last Friday, the airline announced that it would move towards recognising pilots’ unions.

Following the move, Irish media has been left speculating whether it was the decision of O’Leary, or if the long-serving CEO had been forced into it by the company’s board of directors.