This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Cabin crew at Ryanair in the UK will be represented by a union for the first time after Unite signed a recognition agreement with the airline.



About 650 staff working from Ryanair’s UK bases could be covered by the deal, with the union able to represent them in talks on pay, hours and holidays.

Rolls-Royce faces more engine problems as it plans job cuts Read more

The news follows similar agreements with two Italian cabin crew unions five days ago, when the airline said it hoped to sign more recognition deals in the coming weeks.

The rights for crew came after months of talks following Ryanair’s announcement late last year that it would recognise unions – a move prompted by a shortage of pilots that caused a wave of cancellations. It has struck deals with pilots’ unions across Europe, including Balpa in the UK, but securing similar agreements for crew has taken longer.

Many crew members remain indirectly employed via agencies such as Crewlink and will not come under the remit of the Unite deal.



Working conditions at the airline have been scrutinised, with aspiring crew members having to pay thousands of pounds to train to work for Ryanair, as well as facing sanctions for not hitting sales targets onboard.

Unite, which represents more than 25,000 cabin crew across airlines operating from the UK, said it had secured full consultation rights and collective bargaining for Ryanair’s employees, from whom three union representatives will be drawn, with paid time off for union duties.

The Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, said it was a “historic agreement and a significant step by Ryanair”, and urged all crew to join the union.

“For the first time ever, Ryanair’s UK cabin crew will have a recognised union in their corner to deal with workplace issues and collectively bargain on pay,” he said.

Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk

“I’d urge all UK-based Ryanair cabin crew to join Unite and be part of one the biggest trade unions in the world representing airline workers.”

McCluskey said the union would be pursuing similar agreements with the agencies that indirectly employ the rest of Ryanair’s UK cabin crew. “Unite looks forward to building a positive relationship with Ryanair that benefits passengers and workers alike,” he said.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation welcomed the union recognition, but said it did not yet mean Ryanair’s working practices had been reformed.

“We welcome this historic first step from Ryanair to talk to Unite the union on behalf of all UK workers. However, there is a still long way to go to resolve all the issues that their workforce have raised with our affiliates across the Ryanair network,” said the ITF general secretary, Stephen Cotton.

Ryanair’s chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, said the Unite agreement was a further sign of the progress the airline was making with trade unions since its decision to recognise them. “We are confounding those sceptics who claimed that our decision was not real or genuine,” he said.