Ryanair’s Swedish pilots have voted to strike Aug. 10 and a Belgian pilots’ union advised its members to do the same, as long-running tensions between the Irish LCC and its workforce lead to more industrial action.
The Swedish Air Line Pilots’ Association notified Ryanair that its members would strike Aug. 10, saying it had “over the past eight months tried to initiate negotiations with Ryanair without success.”
Ryanair only agreed to recognize unions in December 2017, coming under pressure to do so after a flight cancellations crisis because of a pilot-rostering mix-up that highlighted tensions within its workforce.
In Belgium, where cabin crew went on strike on July 25 and 26, alongside their counterparts in Spain and Portugal, leading to the cancellation of 600 flights overall, pilots’ union the Belgian Cockpit Association (BeCA) encouraged its members to also strike Aug. 10, saying Ryanair had broken its promises to apply local labor laws and adding: “Ryanair’s model must change.”
Meanwhile in Ireland, where members of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association, part of the Forsa trade union have staged three one-day strikes since the start of July, a fourth strikeis planned on Aug. 3.
On July 30, Ryanair invited the union to talks following the Aug. 4 industrial action, saying it had agreed to 9 out of 11 requirements.