What happened during this summer at Ryanair?

In May 2019, after the negotiations that took place in spring, Ryanair finally hired a Belgian Human Resource specialist, Pedro Longhi. Pedro speaks French and Dutch, studied in Belgium and is fully familiar with the Belgian legal system.

He is the person in charge of the proper enforcement of Belgian Labour Law. Therefore, we encourage you to inform him of any problem you encounter in that respect. His email address is Contact details in case of problems with the application of the Belgian labour law: longhip@ryanair.com. Please don’t forget to copy BeCA Office (beca@beca.be), so we can keep track of the problems, which will help us build our legal case.

Over the last months we have assisted several colleagues during disciplinary meetings or meetings related to sickness leave. May we remind you that if we want to build solid legal cases, we need your reports on this kind of problems. Please contact BeCA every time you receive a sickness letter or are called for a disciplinary meeting. The more reports we have, the stronger our case in order to act at a higher level (EASA, ECA, Irish Aviation Authorities).

With regard to the creation of a protocol on base closures or reductions, we have for the time being chosen not to move in this direction. After checking with BeCA’s lawyer, it seemed more appropriate to us to use the tools already existing in Belgium (Renault law, Kleys grid, etc.) rather than create a document that could have been less interesting for employees. The discussion on the subject is not closed but pending.

As far as the vacation system is concerned, we have worked hand in hand with our Irish and English colleagues for the past 10 months. They developed a very interesting point-based holiday system that would have provided a lot more freedom to pilots to organize their holidays. Sadly, every time our Irish and UK colleagues have tried to promote this system, the management response has been negative.

We received similar answers at our previous meetings, where we mentioned the possibility of using the same system as promoted by our Irish colleagues. However, we think that, for the time being, Ryanair won’t accept another system than theirs.

Before our last meeting in August, they sent us the latest version of their ABC system. In its current form, according to our lawyer, it still has unclear or unacceptable rules.

We are aware that you all wish to see a holiday CLA added ASAP. But we refuse to rush the negotiations or negotiate under pressure. We want to give as much chance as possible to implement a solution proposed by a group of pilots (Irish and English) and not by management.

As a side note, in Belgium, this type of subjects is normally dealt with by works councils. The works council will be put into place next year, after the social elections. The negotiation will therefore take place within the existing social dialogue system. This is another reason why we should be patient and not work under the pressure of an agenda imposed by management.

This allows me to get in a subject that will concern us very soon: the 2020 social elections. The current trade union delegation has a special status, “temporary internship”. We needed volunteers, who were willing to take the risk of losing their jobs, to represent you during negotiations with Ryanair management.

In 2020, however, we will have to elect our future representatives. And we need (new) volunteers for that.

I would like to ask each of you to consider applying for a position as union representative. You think you don’t have enough experience? No worries, we did not have any when we started and we risked our jobs! But we’ve been well assisted (by BeCA and unions) and we’ve achieved a lot since then (application of Belgian labour law, CLA on remuneration, CLA on seniority, etc.). These past 18 months have been one of the most exciting times in the history of Belgian aviation. I am proud of every minute I spent with like-minded souls during the strikes to change our airline, for the good of future generations as well as our own.

But there is more work to do, more CLAs to negotiate, more rights to be enforced. This is done through the works council. We need volunteers to get involved: all you need is dedication, honesty and the conviction that we can improve things. You must be able to listen with both ears and speak with one voice.

My time as a union delegate has been the most rewarding role of my life to date. But it’s time for me to pass the torch. So, please think about it and decide whether it’s your turn to be in the driving seat. For more information, don’t hesitate to contact me or BeCA.