In August and then September, BeCA joined forces with LBC/CNE and encouraged its Ryanair members to go on strike.

Many of you know that it is rather unusual for BeCA to participate in – and promote – such actions. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO and our good old friend, qualified at several occasions these strikes as “useless”. But sometimes, when the social dialogue fails, strikes are our last resort…

Ryanair

Background

For the past 15 years, Ryanair has developed an asymmetrical company culture of bullying which results in constant uncertainty and anxiety within its staff, made possible thanks to the use of unclear employment status (the so-called “bogus self-employment”) and an Irish labor legislation that is not favorable to staff.

“Bogus” Social Dialogue

Since fall 2017 and Ryanair’s pilot shortage which led to thousands of flights canceled, unions & BeCA have been “talking” to Ryanair. The first six months of discussion proved us that Ryanair’s only intention was to gain time with empty promises but no real action. Ryanair has only one priority for their pilots: solve their shortage issue without changing the balance of power.

Pilots’ wish

Many pilots decided to leave the company for clearer skies. The pilots who remained, in turn, want to change the airline where they work, the airline that they helped build. Why? Because it is a powerful and stable employer. They want everybody to know that “Ryanair must change. Now.” and the strike has become their ultimate means.

The real challenge for Ryanair today is to find a way to change an archaic people management system, which is not adapted to an airline that employs 4000 pilots and 8000 cabin crew members and has become the second largest European transporter.
Because we are talking about the most essential resource of any company: PEOPLE. And, as long as Ryanair does not understand that, strikes will continue.

Brussels Airlines

Compared to Ryanair’s financial figures (1.3 billion profit in 2017), Brussels Airlines’s (BEL) figures are much more modest (3.6 million profit in 2017). With an annual result close to nil or even negative, our first national airline suffers from its (too) small size and fierce competition. As a consequence, BEL have been asking a lot of compromises to their staff.

That’s why pilots decided in June to go on strike, in order to give a clear signal to BEL management that things needed to change: better work-life balance and salaries aligned with the market.

Unions

The way BEL’s conflict was then managed was subject to discussion: despite a referendum within BEL pilots rejecting their management’s proposal, some unions decided to sign a partial agreement, informing first the media. BEL pilots therefore learnt they agreed with the proposal by reading the newspaper!

On 18 September, a similar scenario came up with Ryanair: whilst pilots’ representatives (under BeCA’s lawyer’s advice) disagreed with Ryanair’s proposal, two unions joined forces to congratulate Ryanair’s proposal “as real progress”, suggesting to launch negotiations.

Whatever the unions’ (legitimate) motivations (visibility in the media, job protection of other employee categories and airline’s survival), all parties have to remain united and coordinated, and let aside sterile “political” wars. In the end, we are all (supposed to) pursuing one aim: defending our jobs & our profession, and ensuring we get decent working conditions.

By Capt. Alain Vanalderweireldt, BeCA President