Ryanair’s Irish Pilots Vote To Strike

Irish pilots’ union IALPA has given Ryanair notice of a strike this month after a ballot of its members voted overwhelmingly to approve industrial action.

The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA), which represents Ryanair’s directly-employed pilots in Ireland, said the vote returned a 99 percent approval rate for industrial action. The union said the dispute is over Ryanair’s approach to transferring pilots between European and African bases.

The union has called a 24 hour strike from 01:00 (1am) Thursday, July 12, and said it would notify the airline of additional strike days in due course.

IFALPA said it is seeking an agreement that would govern base transfer arrangements and related matters, but its request for talks had been met “with a threat to move Dublin-based aircraft and pilots to other airports and cut promotion opportunities.”

“Our member pilots directly employed by Ryanair complain that there is no transparent system for the determination of important matters” including “voluntary/involuntary base transfer/allocation, command upgrade, allocation of annual leave and promotion,” the union said in a statement.

“When a pilot receives notice of a mandatory base change, or is denied a request for a change of base, such management decisions can have a devastating effect on family life.”

The union said it remained available and willing to engage on the issues.