Italian pilots and Ryanair have a deal, the airline’s first-ever signed, sealed and delivered union contract since it announced last year that it would finally agree to recognize employee unions.
The 300 pilots approved the agreement just after their Irish counterparts reached a mediation agreement with the airline and recommended it to members for approval.
The agreements come after a wave of strikes by pilots and cabin crew, including a coordinated 24-hour strike by Ryanair pilots in several European countries, demanding changes in wages and working conditions. One issue that affects many is Ryanair’s hiring of staff under Irish contracts that leave pilots unable to get state benefits in their own countries.
‘Union recognition agreements,’ a step before negotiating contracts, have also been reached with several cabin and ground crew unions.
The airline says it expects to come to more agreements. Its ‘Chief People Officer,’ Eddie Wilson, told press that “We have invited our UK, German and Spanish unions to meet with us in the coming days so that we can negotiate and hopefully agree similar pilot collective labour agreements in these other larger markets.”
