Both sides must seek Ryanair resolution

RYANAIR’S Dublin-based staff pilots go on strike today. The stoppage by about 100 pilots will result in 5,000 passengers being affected as 30 out of 290 scheduled flights will be cancelled. Flights to the UK will be affected, so disruption will be minimised.

Although passengers with seats will be disrupted, there are alternative routes available by air and sea.

Anyone using Ryanair to go on holiday to the continent won’t be inconvenienced – on this occasion.

However, there is a clear threat of further strikes down the line.

The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association said the strike is over management’s approach to transferring pilots between its European and African bases.

The union wants a seniority agreement to recognise where pilots are based, the order for transfers and how annual leave allocations are arranged.

Ryanair says it has tried to avert the strike, which it says is unnecessary. The airline management and the union Fórsa sat down for talks yesterday.

A strike represents a failure of industrial relations. A dispute of this nature benefits nobody: not the workers, the employer, the economy or the customers. However, union recognition is in its infancy in Ryanair. There is a certain inevitability there will be disputes in the airline, which will take time to resolve.

There is an onus on both sides to ensure every mechanism available is utilised to bring about a resolution.

A series of one-day stoppages will strain public support for airline and pilots alike in a country so dependent on its air links.