On LinkedIn, BeCA reacted to a post from Marc Duffy, Ryanair’s Director of Talent, calling for new pilots, engineers, cabin crew, technology professionals, ground staff & office support staff… to join Ryanair.

It is surprising to read that Ryanair wants to make an effort to attract new pilots and cabin crew members but still consistently fails to treat their current pilots with the necessary respect:

• Ryanair systematically violates local employment laws
• does not even have a local HR representative
• Pilots who report for sick leave for more than 12 days a year are subject to disciplinary hearings
• the company does not respect collective labour agreements
• and is massively sued by its own pilots (currently +|- 50 pilots are in court litigation with Ryanair in Belgium as we speak).
• Pilot turnover is one of the highest in the market.

Before trying to hire new pilots, why does Ryanair not try to keep its own staff happy?

Instead of a culture of systematic clashes with its own staff, Ryanair could try to retain its people with a positive HR management style and respect for local employment legislation.

This might also be a new slide on the next presentation for the Capital Markets Day. Most investors care about stakeholders, and Ryanair should be able to establish that it also cares about its staff as one of its primary stakeholders.

Ryanair’s position not only threatens its own pilots, but challenges all Collective Labor Agreements (CLA) & the system of collective representation in Belgium.

We urge the competent authorities to act!

The law is not negotiable!