‘Painstaking’ peace talks at Ryanair enter last day
LAST-DITCH talks to end a row at Ryanair that has disrupted the travel plans of up to 18,500 passengers were described as “painstaking” last night.
Pressure is mounting on management at the airline and some of its Irish-based pilots to broker a deal in a row over their terms and conditions.
A three-day deadline set for the talks that began on Monday ends today.
Sources close to the discussions said independent mediator Kieran Mulvey set a limited time frame for the negotiations.
However, it is possible they could continue if progress is being made.
If the talks collapse, passengers face more strikes.
The negotiations chaired by Mr Mulvey follow previous talks between a management team and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association division of Fórsa that failed to reach a resolution.
If the latest talks collapse, the chances of a resolution will be much dimmer as Ryanair is not believed to be in favour of State mediation bodies getting involved.
The pilots want a more transparent system to decide who gets first call on base transfers, holidays and promotions, arguing for the system to be based on how long they are in the job. Those with the longest service would be given priority.
Sources said the parties are engaged in discussing how this would work on a practical basis and whether such a system could be viewed as discriminatory.
Talks began this week after the Irish-based pilots held a fifth strike last Friday.
The walkout took place on the same day as a 24-hour strike by their colleagues in four other countries.
Ryanair has put 300 staff on protective notice. It threatened more than 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew that their services may not be required from October 28.
Directly employed pilots, who represent a quarter of the pilot workforce in Ireland, are unlikely to announce any more strikes while talks are underway.
However, Ryanair could face further industrial action abroad following strikes by cabin crew and pilots in other European countries.
Cabin crew strikes had the greatest impact, with up to 100,000 customers hit by 600 flight cancellations due to the strikes.