Ryanair pilots in Ireland have called a fifth one-day strikefor Aug. 10, leading the Irish LCC to cancel a further 20 flights and adding to a wave of European industrial actionas a conflict with its workforce continues.
Trade union Forsa, of which the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) is a branch, said directly employed Ryanair pilots in Ireland would stage their fifth one-day strike since July 12 beginning at 0100 on Aug. 10 in an ongoing dispute about working conditions including base transfers.
Swedish pilots have also voted to strike Aug. 10 while Belgian pilots’ union the Belgian Cockpit Association has called on its members to walk out on the same day.
In Ireland, IALPA/Forsa and Ryanair are locked in a war of words over the two parties’ approach to ironing out their issues.
Forsa said on Aug. 2: “In the 19 days since the first one-day strike took place, company management has agreed to just two hours of talks, despite Forsa’s repeated assurance that it is available for discussions at any time. The union has today told Ryanair that it remains available for talks. The airline’s escalation of the dispute last Wednesday (July 25)—when it threatened to sack 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, or transfer them to Poland—led to a predictable hardening of resolve among its staff.”
Ryanair served 90 days “protective notice” on over 100 Dublin-based pilots and 200 cabin crew on July 25, warning them that their positions could be under threat as it plans to cut its Dublin fleet and shift at least six Dublin-based aircraft to Polish charter carrier Ryanair Sun.
Meanwhile, Ryanair said it has agreed to nine of Forsa’s 11 demands and that Forsa is repeatedly declining its invitations to meet. Ryanair blames the involvement of Aer Lingus pilots that it said are disrupting the process.
Ryanair agreed to recognize trade unions in December, after a flight cancellations crisis threw workforce tensions into the spotlight, forcing it to do so.