Belgian Ryanair pilots announce planned strike

Ryanair pilots based in Belgium have announced their group decision to go on strike on July 15 and 16, according to the Belgian Cockpit Association (BeCA), Christian trade union CNE/ACV Puls.

After failing to reach an agreement in one year of negotiations over wages and better working conditions, the pilots' unions called on its members to take industrial action this summer during the holiday season, Belgian broadcaster VRT said on Friday.

The pilots residing in Belgium had issued an ultimatum to Ryanair's management, giving the Irish-owned budget airline until Friday noon to reconsider its ideas to reduce the number of rest days for pilots, which they claimed were against the law, as confirmed by the Social Inspectorate and the Federal Public Service for Employment.

Ryanair pilots based in Belgium, on top of the strike on July 15 and 16, asserted their right to continue their industrial actions until the expiration of the current COVID collective labor agreement (CLA) which ends in October 2024.

To resolve the dispute, pilots asked Ryanair's management to propose a satisfactory solution to their demands for higher wages to compensate for increased inflation and the rise in the cost of living.

However, the main point of contention between the Ryanair pilots and management revolves around salaries, which were cut by 20 percent at the onset of the COVID pandemic to aid the company during the crisis.

In the meantime, the airline gained significant profits this year (€1.43 billion in profits after tax). However, the management has refused to engage in meaningful negotiations to restore the pilots' pre-COVID purchasing power.

To add insult to injury, Ryanair management has informed its pilots in Belgium that it plans to terminate the CLA that ensures their current working hours and rest periods, effective from October 1.

The Belgium-based pilots’ current labor agreement states they have to be on standby 5 days a week, meaning they should be prepared to fly at any time in case they are needed, and Ryanair wants to extend that to 6 days, without compensating for the lost day off.

“Belgian legislation clearly states that Ryanair cannot change this unilaterally. They have already received several notifications about that, but they just ignore them”, explained Hans Elsen of the Christian union ACV Puls. “In theory, Ryanair follows Belgian rules, but in practice, they implement what they want without taking working conditions into account.”

It is expected that the strike could potentially affect around 140 flights from Charleroi airport during the summer holiday season peak, dealing a heavy financial blow to the Irish airline.

However, as of yet, it remains unclear how many pilots will join in the strike, and as a result, how many flights will be forced to be canceled.

The Brussels Times cited Didier Lebbe, permanent secretary of the Christian employees' union CNE as saying that there is significant mobilization among the pilots. An extensive survey, in which 81 percent of the pilots participated, indicated that 86 percent of them supported staging the walkout because of disagreement with management.

"We were hoping to reach an agreement this summer, but we can't because management is inflexible," he said. "We apologize in advance to passengers who plan to travel with Ryanair between now and October 2024 and who may be affected by these strikes"

Last year, 48 Ryanair pilots took legal action against the airline taking it to court after their summer strikes had left management unhinged over their outcries about low wages and difficult working conditions.

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