O’Leary’s scorn for unions is plain

Speaking to investors in February, Michael O’Leary described unions across Europe as a “busted flush” who “preside over the death of many of the flag carrier airlines”.

He said that the airline union activity around Europe is a “load of b **** x”.

He also claimed that airline unions are a “mob whose day is largely dead”.

Only last September, Mr O’Leary insisted that “hell would freeze over” before he would welcome unions into the airline.

In October 2016, the airline boss branded RTÉ a “rat-infested North Korean union shop” before adding: “I can’t turn on the bloody ‘Nine O’Clock News’ without having to see Ingrid Miley’s face giving me the latest spew from the Trotskyites and all the rest of it.”

At the time of the Bus Éireann dispute in April this year, Mr O’Leary commended Transport Minister Shane Ross for “staying out of it”.

“You’ll only get negotiations and common sense from unions when they understand that the Government won’t come around and open the cheque book again,” he said.

Speaking on Newstalk in June, when asked about the Luas strike, he replied: “I would have sacked the whole lot of them. Out you go.” He said there was “a bunch of head bangers” demanding a significant pay rise when inflation was running at less than 1pc. “That’s mad,” added the airline boss.