Ryanair recognises UK pilots' union for first time

Ryanair said Tuesday it has signed an agreement to recognise the British Airline Pilots Association that reverses its historic hostility towards trade unions. "This is the first formal union recognition agreement Ryanair has signed," a spokesman for the Irish no-frills airline told AFP.
It comes after the Dublin-based carrier, which has suffered turbulence in recent months from aggrieved staff, announced earlier this month that its UK-based pilots had accepted pay increases of up to 20 percent. "We are pleased today to announce this UK recognition agreement with BALPA on behalf of our directly employed pilots in the UK," said Ryanair head of personnel Eddie Wilson.
"The fact that we have delivered pay rises of up to 20 percent and union recognition for our pilots in our largest market, shows how serious Ryanair is about working constructively with unions that are willing to work constructively with us. Ryanair suffered a troubled end to 2017, being forced to cancel 20,000 flights through to March this year, mainly because of botched holiday scheduling for pilots.
The fiasco triggered pilots' demands for better working conditions and representation, with some departing for other carriers. The discontent also saw Ryanair hit by its first-ever strike by pilots, with German staff staging a short stoppage ahead of Christmas.
BALPA will now be recognised as the sole trade union for Ryanair's 600 employed pilots that are based in the UK. The voluntary recognition deal will see the union's representatives involved in future negotiations on hours, holidays, pay and rostering.
"Given Ryanair's previous hostility towards unions, today's agreement is an historic one," said BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton. "While we were initially sceptical about Ryanair's sincerity in offering recognition to us and other unions, our conversations and meetings with them have shown that they are genuine in wanting a constructive trade union relationship."
The news comes after Ryanair said in December that it would also recognise an Irish pilots' trade union, Impact, in a bid to resolve the long-running row. Ryanair's decision marks a historic turning point for the company, according to industry analysts.
Outspoken chief executive Michael O'Leary - in charge since 1994 - had vehemently opposed any union representation for staff. However, he came under intense pressure to change his stance after the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights for the winter season between November 2017 and March 2018.
Independent aviation analyst John Strickland described Tuesday's announcement as "a major strategic change for Ryanair". He told AFP: "The pilot flight cancellations have been a major catalyst with pilots seizing their key moment to negotiate and Ryanair recognising that something had to change. "Pay increases and union recognition still leave them with much lower costs than competitors."
ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson added that the company had simply been forced to respond to "pilot power". "Things have had to change and O'Leary has been forced to accept that the pilots have more power," Wilson told AFP. "They had no choice after last year's fiasco - pilot power came to the fore and it was made very clear that they were leaking pilots to rivals and could leak a lot more if they did not sort it."
The turmoil comes as the European aviation sector also continues to face turbulence from Brexit. Ryanair decided earlier this month to apply for a British operating licence in case Britain leaves the European Union next year without an aviation deal.