PILOTS TO VOTE ON STRIKE DEAL
Union will urge members to accept airline’s offer
RYANAIR has reached an agreement with pilots union Forsa, it was revealed yesterday.
It comes after 22 hours of negotiations which began on Wednesday.
The trade union said in a statement: “The proposed agreement will now go to ballot, with a recommendation for acceptance from Forsa and its Ryanair pilot representatives.”
The airline will take the proposals to its board after the Irish-based pilots vote.
Forsa revealed it has been asked by talks facilitator Kieran Mulvey not to make any further comment while the ballot takes place. The dispute
The airline and union have a deal between Ryanair and some of its Irish pilots centred around base transfers, promotions, annual leave and other issues.
Some of the trade unions stuck in negotiations around Europe said they are watching the talks closely.
However, Dutch pilots union VNV claimed the proposal did not appear to cover all the issues at stake and was limited to base transfers and promotions. Spokesman Joost van Doesburg added: “We’ll have to study the details but for now we don’t see much in this for us to build on, as we have different priorities.”
Earlier this month, there was a 24-hour walkout involving staff in Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
About 50,000 passengers were understood to be involved in the cancellation of 400 flights.
In July, 300 flights were cancelled when cabin crews in Belgium, Portugal and Spain went on strike for 48 hours.
Ryanair employs more than 4,000 pilots, with 350 of them based here.
The party’s mental health spokesman Pat Buckley called it a “shocking indictment on the system”.
He said: “The minister must do everything in his power to see the service can continue.”