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30 August 2018

Dear Mr. Bellew,
Dear Mr. Wilson,

 

We the unified union representatives for Ryanair pilots would like to propose a way to deescalate the current conflict - which included the industrial action on August 10th - between Ryanair pilots at almost all bases throughout Europe and Ryanair management.

Several issues which led to the present conflict, some of which you have partially addressed in your tentative agreement with IALPA (Ryanair) Company Council representatives in Ireland, should be considered transnational issues. It is clear that these issues will impact any pilots moving into or out of Ireland, are common to any pilot within the company, and that identical questions will arise in all countries. We as union representatives and you as management would therefore benefit from consistent solutions applicable to all Ryanair pilots throughout Europe.

Through our ongoing exchange within the RTPG, we noted that you sent identical letters to several of our Member Associations mentioning possible solutions such as employment contracts under local law. In our opinion, this shows that Ryanair management has also defined topics which are not limited to just one or just a few countries but are common to all of your pilots irrespective of what country they are based in.

You will understand that the pilots cannot accept a situation that attempts to artificially divide them across countries when this so clearly works against both the company’s and the pilots’ mutual interests. Pursuing such a divisive approach would most likely lead to an escalation of our current conflict rather than helping to resolve any current or future differences. We can all see that industrial peace can pay dividends for everybody.

It is our firm belief that solving identical transnational issues throughout Europe on a transnational level, would be the most efficient and promising way to enter into constructive and successful negotiation processes in parallel to the processes taking place on a national level for specific national issues. The details of such transnational negotiations (incl. non-disclosure & confidentiality arrangements) are to be defined at the beginning of such a process.

We would like to highlight that your pilots within the RTPG already defined a number of key issues to be addressed by Ryanair management (see attached & here), which we would consider as a suitable basis for such transnational negotiations. We are also open to exploring the option of using a transnational mediation approach, especially given the recent progress made in Ireland using that format for a specific issue at stake. In the interests of efficiency for both parties we request that you consider such an approach to support transnational discussions with us. Any such mediation would be without prejudice to ongoing court cases and would be greatly facilitated by Ryanair recognising the application of local law to national contracts.

A transnational company such as Ryanair will require transnational solutions to allow for long-term industrial peace and to secure further growth for everyone’s benefit. It will also make the most efficient use of valuable time for both managers and pilots’ representatives.

On behalf of all unions and associations unified under the RTPG we would like to emphasise that there is a strong desire to find mutually acceptable solutions to our conflict as early as possible. However, there is also a determination to use all means at our disposal to resist the continuation of Ryanair management to reject our reasonable expectations for a consistent workplace across the company and proposals to achieve that objective. Therefore, we request you to swiftly start a dialogue with us to engage in meaningful negotiations with a view of reaching transnational solutions as a group for our mutual benefit, and suggest to meet with us in a joint meeting, in Brussels or Dublin, in the very near future.

With best regards,

Dirk Polloczek, ECA President

Enda Ryan, RTPG President

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