Breaking: Travel chaos looms for people trying to get home for Christmas – Ryanair pilots announce a strike on Christmas week – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Breaking: Travel chaos looms for people trying to get home for Christmas – Ryanair pilots announce a strike on Christmas week




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In what could eventually lead to travel chaos, budget airline carrier Ryanair has announced a one day strike of its pilots on Wednesday, December 20th.

The strike is based in Germany and will see fights disrupted right across Europe, but mainly in Dublin where its headquarters is based.

In a public statement released to the media, Ryanair said:

“Ryanair pilots who are members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA), a branch of IMPACT trade union, have this afternoon (Tuesday) served company management with notice of a one-day strike on Wednesday 20 December.

Irish-based directly-employed pilots, mostly captains, will withdraw their labour in an action that IMPACT says will either disrupt flights or generate substantial costs to the airline.

“The pilots backed industrial action by a margin of 94% to 6% in secret ballots conducted over the last week.

“The dispute is over Ryanair management’s refusal to enter direct negotiations with the European Employee Representative Council (EERC) or IALPA as the sole independent representative body for pilots working in the company. The airline has so far refused to recognise the EERC or IALPA, and insists that any discussion of pay and working conditions be conducted through management-controlled “employee representative councils.

“The union has warned of further strike days if agreement is not reached.

“Although the number of employees involved in the strike is fewer than the total number of Irish-based Ryanair pilots, the action will have impact because planes cannot legally or safely fly without a captain.”

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