This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Ryanair has agreed that the Balpa union will now represent all its British pilots in talks, sealing a historic turnaround by an airline whose chief executive once said he would rather cut off his own hands than recognise a union.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association said it had signed a voluntary trade union recognition agreement that meant its reps will negotiate pay, hours, rostering and holidays for all 600 UK pilots directly employed by Ryanair – a quarter of the total across Europe.



Balpa said the move followed Ryanair’s announcement before Christmas that it was changing its stance towards unions in the face of threatened strike action. Pilots had informally organised and many were leaving for rival airlines, exacerbating shortages.

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Ryanair had said it was willing to enter into discussions about recognising pilots’ unions in a number of European countries, including the UK.

Balpa’s general secretary, Brian Strutton, said: “Given Ryanair’s previous hostility towards unions, today’s agreement is a historic one.



“While we were initially sceptical about Ryanair’s sincerity in offering recognition to us and other unions, our conversations and meetings with them have shown that they are genuine in wanting a constructive trade union relationship.

Ryanair to recognise unions to prevent pilots' strike before Christmas Read more

“I am hopeful that this is the beginning of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between Balpa and Ryanair, and I urge Ryanair to agree deals with pilot unions in other countries and with cabin crew unions.”

Balpa has started elections for a council of five Ryanair pilots to represent them in negotiations in airlines. The union said it will also set up an advisory council for hundreds of pilots, mainly co-pilots, hired via third parties or as self-employed contractors for Ryanair.

The Ryanair chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, said: “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% 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.



“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% 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.”

One Ryanair pilot, who had been involved in organising collective action before December’s surprise announcement, said that many longstanding staff remained sceptical, despite the deal.

“It’s a step in the right direction – but we’re waiting to see if Ryanair will be dealing in good faith now. We’re a little bit dubious, but we are in a position now where we can at least try to negotiate.”



The refusal by Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, to recognise trade unions was at the heart of the low-cost airline business model he developed, transforming a small Irish regional airline into Europe’s largest carrier by passenger numbers.

He has frequently dismissed pilots’ complaints and insisted on pay negotiations being conducted through company-controlled representative committees at individual bases – which will now be disbanded after the Balpa deal.

However, a shortage of pilots led the airline to cancel thousands of flights, shifting more power to staff.