Ryanair has a formal recognition agreement with the British Airline Pilots Association, who will now be the sole representative body for Ryanair employed pilots in the UK.
This agreement follows extensive negotiations with BALPA since Ryanair’s December announcement that it was willing to recognise unions for collective bargaining purposes.
While these recognition negotiations were continuing with BALPA, the six remaining Ryanair UK bases (including Stansted) voted – in secret ballot – to accept pay increases of up to 20 per cent.
Ryanair hopes the increases will blunt rising discontent among pilots at the carrier.
Welcoming the recognition agreement, Ryanair chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, said: “We are pleased today to announce this UK recognition agreement with BALPA on behalf of our directly employed pilots in the UK.
“The UK accounts for a quarter of Ryanair’s fleet and pilot numbers.
“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 per cent 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.”
Wilson added: “This rapid progress in the UK is in marked contrast to some other EU countries where we are still waiting for a response to our recognition proposals and where some unions have failed to put these substantial pay increases to our pilots.
“We now call on these unions to stop wasting time and act quickly to deliver 20 per cent pay increases to our pilots in February, and conclude formal recognition agreements, which they are presently sitting on.
“Ryanair will not allow these unions to delay pay increases to our pilots.”
He concluded: “Today’s agreement between Ryanair and BALPA shows that Ryanair can work with unions that wish to work with us to promote the interests of both our pilots and our customers.”