Ryanair reaches '˜historic' agreement with pilots' union

The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) said it had signed a voluntary trade union recognition agreement, with its reps involved in future negotiations on pay, hours, rostering and holidays.

Balpa said the move followed Ryanair’s announcement before Christmas that it was changing its stance towards unions and was willing to enter into discussions about recognising pilots’ unions in a number of European countries, including the UK.

Under the agreement, Balpa will be recognised as the sole trade union representing all of Ryanair’s 600 employed pilots based in the UK.

“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.

Ryanair’s chief people officer Eddie Wilson said: “This agreement validates the decision of Ryanair’s Board in December to recognise unions, and the fact that we have delivered pay rises of up to 20% 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.”