Below, some news about representation of pilots within Ryanair.

The Ryanair Pilot Group (RPG) was founded in 2012, with the following primary goal: to establish a basis for interaction with Ryanair in which pilots select their own representatives […] and are able to negotiate on behalf of pilots in a mutually respectful environment.

At the ECA November 2016 General Assembly, the Member Associations discussed the RPG’s situation. They reviewed the role and responsibilities of the RPG (see box below).

The RPG will remain independent and national pilots’ associations will be represented according to their Ryanair membership.
Regarding membership, all Ryanair pilots are invited to join the association of the country where they are based. This means that all Ryanair pilots based in Brussels or Charleroi must become full members of BeCA. By paying their membership fees to BeCA, they will, as all other BeCA members, benefit from all the services BeCA offers to its members. In addition, they will automatically and at no extra cost, be members of the RPG. BeCA hopes this new structure will allow for a stronger and better representation and coordination of Ryanair pilots at national level and across Europe.

As a consequence of this new structure, BeCA created a new category for Ryanair pilots. Like the other airlines category, RYR pilots are now represented by a Vice-President (VP). The RYR VP is a Ryanair pilot.

He is the point of contact for any issue a RYR pilot should have to face. For confidentiality reasons and to let him work freely and without pressure, his anonymity will be preserved. You can contact him directly by email.

Role of RPG and responsibilities

The reason for an RPG is a common identity for Ryanair pilots. The role of the RPG will principally be that of a coordinating and campaigning platform. It will not engage in the direct recruitment of members. It will:

• encourage Ryanair pilots to become members of the ECA national pilot association appropriate to their jurisdiction
• collate and disseminate information via national pilot associations which is relevant to Ryanair pilots
• find common interests of all Ryanair pilots across Europe
• assist national pilot associations in representing Ryanair pilots
• maintain and populate the RPG website
• draw to the attention of the ECA and appropriate national pilot associations, irregular employment practices and abuses
• on a quarterly basis update national pilot associations as to its previous quarter’s activities, and plans for the following quarter
• other matters as agreed

Pilots of Ryanair in Germany join together

The German based pilots of Ryanair founded a Company Council on 18 December 2016 under the umbrella of the German Airline Pilots’ Association (Vereinigung Cockpit, VC). For the first time, Ryanair pilots are organizing themselves in Germany in order to avoid the airline’s questionable treatment of its employees (http://bit.ly/2lj5DZg).