DUBLIN: Ryanair will offer direct employment contracts within the next few weeks to all pilots in Germany who are currently on contracts via an agency, the budget airline said on Thursday.
The Irish carrier has come under fire from unions, especially in Germany, for its practice of employing some pilots via third-party agencies, such as McGinley Aviation. The airline last year decided to recognise unions in an attempt to improve relations with its pilots and ease a staffing crunch.
"McGinley Aviation have decided to withdraw from supplying contractor pilots for Ryanair in the German market, and Ryanair has now begun the process of offering these contractors direct employment," a Ryanair spokeswoman said.
McGinley said that after a review of operations, it would cease to provide contractors in Germany from Oct. 31.
"We continue to supply contractor pilots to all other countries in Ryanair's growing European network and look forward to a future continued relationship with our customer," a spokeswoman said via email.
Ryanair has so far agreed union recognition deals in Britain and Italy and hopes for similar in Spain by the end of the month.
Goodbody analysts said the move to offer direct contracts in Germany should help to ease relations between Ryanair management and the German pilots union.
A spokesman for German union Vereinigung Cockpit said it would first have to see the terms of the new direct contracts before commenting.
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