Ryanair says Irish pilot jobs saved after pay cut is agreed
More than 400 pilots that work with the airline in Ireland accept a 20pc pay cut
ALL of Ryanair’s more than 400 pilots based in Ireland have signed an agreement that will see their pay slashed by 20pc.
And the carrier, whose group chief executive is Michael O’Leary, has insisted that the move will ensure none of them will lose their jobs in the immediate future.
But the agreement was also secured after a tense standoff with the pilots.
According to trade union Fórsa, the umbrella body for the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, Ryanair pilots were warned on Friday of last week to accept the pay cuts or face getting no work from the airline.
Fórsa said a 30-day consultation period on redundancies had concluded on Friday last week without a collective agreement being reached.
“We wrote to Ryanair seeking an extension, as the 30-day period is the minimum consultation period. It can be extended by agreement,” said a spokesman for the trade union.
“We indicated that the union was happy to work with a third party in order to facilitate reaching a collective agreement,” he said. “We have not yet received any response to this from Ryanair.”
He said that Ryanair pilots received a communication on Friday last week, “which, essentially, offers an ultimatum to the effect that if they sign the agreement they will receive work, but if they don’t, they won’t receive work”.
Ryanair did not comment directly on the process when asked yesterday.
However, a spokesperson for the carrier confirmed that all its pilots in Ireland had signed the agreement, and that “this agreement is actually protecting all these jobs”.
The agreement will see pilot pay restored over four years, while also introducing productivity changes to rosters, flexible working patterns and annual leave, according to the carrier.
“This agreement gives Ryanair a framework to flex its operation during the Covid-19 crisis and a pathway to recovery when the business returns to normal in the years ahead,” it said.
Ryanair cabin crew in Ireland that are members of Fórsa are currently voting on a proposal that would see them accept up to a 10pc pay cut, which would also be restored by 2024, in order to save jobs.
This week, Ryanair’s pilots in the UK that are members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), also accepted a 20pc pay cut. Balpa said 96pc of Ryanair pilots who are union members voted in favour of the cut in order to save 260 of the 330 pilot jobs that were at risk.
Ryanair had planned to axe as many as 3,000 jobs if it could not secure agreements on pay cuts and other measures.
The carrier resumed a large number of scheduled flights this week across its network. It’s operating more than 1,000 flights a day across 200 destinations. It said that restores about 90pc of its pre-Covid network, but with lower frequencies.
Yesterday, Ryanair again criticised Ireland’s quarantine rules and said there’s “no scientific basis” for advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team not to travel to and from Ireland by air.