Ryanair has hit out at pilots who are staging their third 24-hour strike over an ongoing dispute by publishing their salaries online.
The Dublin-based carrier has cancelled 16 flights between the UK and Ireland today affecting some 2,500 passengers.
The 24-hour stoppage began at 1am as Irish-based pilots picketed the airline’s headquarters in Swords, County Dublin, in the row over annual leave and promotions.
Ryanair has cancelled 16 flights between the UK and Ireland today affecting some 2,500 passengers, due to a 24-hour pilot strike
The airline has hit out at pilots who are staging their third 24-hour strike over an ongoing dispute by publishing their salaries online
This payslip, published online by Ryanair, shows how an Irish captain earns over 16,000 euros per month
A Belgian Ryanair captain can earn over 200,000 euros per months and a UK captain even more than that
And the airline hit back at those carrying out the strike by taking to Twitter and revealing how much it pays it flight crews, which in some instances is considerable.
In a statement published online, the low-cost airline said: ‘We apologise to the 2,500 customers whose flights today were cancelled last Thursday (and who were re-accommodated/refunded over the weekend) due to a third unnecessary strike by a small minority (25 per cent) of our Irish pilots (who earn 150,000 to 200,000 euros p.a.) over ‘seniority and base transfer proposals which they can’t explain and which don’t even affect them.
‘Our pilots should resolve these issues through out working group and not disrupt any more customer holidays.
‘Across Europe today, Ryanair will operate 2,500 flights, taking over 450,000 customers to their holiday destinations.’
Ryanair pilots who are part of the Forsa union form a picket line outside the airline’s headquarters in Swords, County Dublin
Yesterday, Ryanair also warned that if the industrial action continues, there could be job losses.
But trade union Forsa, which represents the pilots, slammed the carrier for making ‘threatening statements’.
A spokesman for the union said: ‘This kind of threatening statement is not conducive to building trust and reaching a resolution to the dispute, and Forsa doesn’t accept that jobs or expansion in the airline need be put at risk by company management.’
The union said that the pilots continue to seek a ‘fair and transparent method’ to govern base transfers and related matters which they say is common practice in the industry.
The 24-hour stoppage began at 1am in the row over annual leave and promotions
The spokesman added: ‘At present, company management has total discretion on transfers, which can see pilots moved to bases thousands of miles from their homes and families.
‘Most other airlines have a fair and transparent criteria, based on seniority, to govern pilot relocations.’
Forsa and Ryanair management have met twice in the last two weeks, for some nine hours.
The union said that the discussions found common ground on the possibility of establishing a joint working group to thrash out the disputed issues, however the parties couldn’t agree on terms of reference for such a group.
In a statement, Ryanair said that it is available to meet Forsa ‘at any time’.
It said: ‘After three months and two meetings lasting over nine hours, Forsa still haven’t responded to our written proposals on seniority, base transfers and annual leave, which addresses their claimed requirements.
‘Sadly Forsa prefer to strike first rather than use strikes as a last resort.
Yesterday Ryanair warned that if the industrial action continues, there could be job losses
‘When Ryanair has already agreed pilot recognition deals in bigger markets like Italy and the UK, clearly it’s for Forsa and 25 per cent of the Irish pilots that are causing these problems in Ireland, not Ryanair.’
Meanwhile, Ryanair cabin crew in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy are going on strike on Wednesday and Thursday, leading to the cancellation of 600 flights over two days and affecting 100,000 passengers.
The airline said: ‘All of our 50,000 Spain, Portugal and Belgium customers whose flights on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of July were cancelled last Wednesday due to a cabin crew strike were re-accommodated on alternative flights, or applied for full refunds over the weekend. We expect no further cancellations tomorrow (Wednesday, 25th).’
Unions in these countries say they want Ryanair staff to be employed according to the national legislation of the country they operate in, rather than that of Ireland.