Dear Ryanair members and colleagues,

BeCA and the whole Belgian pilot community reiterate here their full support to our Ryanair colleagues in strive for decent working conditions. The developments that took place in the past weeks are unprecedented in Ryanair history. There is no doubt the Ryanair model has to change as clearly analyzed by our ETF/ITF colleagues.

The unity shown among Ryanair pilots, combined with the recent European Court of Justice ruling confirming that the home base is the habitual place of work, paves the road for deep changes in the current Ryanair employment model.

BeCA supports the legitimate demands from RYR pilots summarized in the first ERC letter to Management, i.e.:

• To set up a regional system with permanent local contracts, subject to the Labor law of the respective country.
• To ensure similar high level working conditions as in other European airlines, to prevent pilots from leaving the company
• To start negotiations for the signature of new contracts for all pilots by 1 January 2018.

BeCA is working very actively in close coordination with Belgian lawyers, unions and with other European pilot associations to address the first series of questions we received from our RYR members over the last days. Namely:

• Can Belgian labour legislation already be applied before the final judgment of Mons labour Court yet to come?
• How can RYR pilots based in Belgium be best represented? How can they be protected in case of industrial actions?
• What is the situation of the self-employed Ryanair pilots? How can those interested in a direct contract with Ryanair get satisfaction?
• What legal value do the ERC “Base Agreements” have? How can they be made stronger?

Keeping all RYR pilots united is essential. Therefore we encourage all Ryanair pilots based in Belgium to join BeCA. If you are NOT based in Belgium, please join the association of the country where you are based. For a list of pilot associations in Europe, please go to: https://eurocockpit.be/our-members-benefits. Additionally, you will find below a few Q&As on BeCA.

Let’s face it: structurally changing the world Ryanair pilots live in won’t be easy and it will take time, but you have to start from somewhere NOW! And BeCA will be there to support you and accompany you in your efforts. Any questions can be emailed to RYR-VP@beca.be or contact our office on +32 2 245 34 50.

BeCA Executive Committee

Q&As on BeCA & Unions

Q: Is BeCA a union? How does BeCA work?

A: BeCA is the professional association of all airline pilots in Belgium, with no political obedience. BeCA is divided into 5 airline divisions: Brussels Airlines/Thomas Cook, TUIFly, TNT/ASLB, EAT/DHL and Ryanair. The pilot groups’ representatives have access to technical and legal expertise on all pilot topics: collective contracts of course but also on FTLs, Accident Investigation, Just Culture, Safety, Security, basically anything related to the pilot profession.

Practically speaking, our Flight Crew representatives within airlines in Belgium work in close coordination with the general workers’ unions who have legal mandate to represent all categories of workers combined.

Q: What is BeCA’s role at European level and why is it important to RYR pilots based in Belgium?

A: BeCA is a member of the European Cockpit Association and as such has permanent contact with pilot unions/associations like ANPAC (Italy), BALPA (UK), IALPA (Ireland), VC (Germany), VNV (Netherlands). Through this network, BeCA can offer the best support to individual Ryanair pilots facing difficulties, for instance in case of accident/incident or individual contract issue like self-employed pilots formerly based in Germany.

Q: What experience do BeCA and ECA have in representation of pilots working for transnational airlines?

A: BeCA has a division in charge of EAT/DHL pilots based in Belgium but working for a German AOC (EAT Leipzig Gmbh). This implies coordinating with another pilot base in Leipzig, under different legislation. And ECA have transnational pilot groups in Easyjet and Norwegian.

Q: I am already a BeCA member, should I join a general workers’ union too?

A: We know it is a sensitive subject among the Pilot community, but we would recommend to do so. Changing the landscape you live in will take energy and resources from everywhere. BeCA does not have any specific agreement with any union, but CSC/CNE is currently the one with the most extensive expertise on Ryanair, given the recent cases they have taken care of.

Note: the total cost of both BeCA + Union memberships will still be lower than fees to pilot unions in other EU countries.

Q: Does BeCA have a secret master plan to hit Ryanair in any way?

A: Absolutely not, what we see at Ryanair is a combination of abnormal employment practices progressively developing in other Belgian airlines too. We simply want, all together, to tackle them to improve pilot conditions and to stop the “race to the bottom”.