Ryanair pilots based in Belgium have agreed to suspend their two-day strikes for the upcoming two months only if they reach an agreement with the board of directors.
The AVC Puls trade union announced that the parties had agreed that pilot strikes would not concern the Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) if the management commits to negotiating without necessarily imposing its decisions, especially for working hours.
This communication is, however, largely optimistic. It is true that protocols were signed this Friday. If these negotiations go well and really continue, we will not strike.
However, if the negotiations fail, the staff will go on a strike in a bid to put pressure on the management to meet the requirements the unions have, which include three main ones: to respect the law on wages, minimum compliance with the agreement on rest times and return the income that was provided to pilot’s before COVID and with indexation in order for the workers to handle inflation better.
On the other hand, Ryanair says that all pilot workers, except for those based in Belgium, have accepted a salary increase, but the airline does not take inflation into account, while indexation is compulsory in Belgium and some other European countries.
Van Kierbilck vows that if these three requirements are met, there will be no more strikes. A federal mediator has also been appointed to attend future social consultations.
Most recently, Belgian pilots announced a strike that was scheduled for September 14, which also was the day that the Annual General Meeting of Ryainair shareholders in Dublin was being held.
Pilots expect a 20 per cent salary cut that they received during the COVID-19 to be reinstated to help them with inflation, while also the workload to be reduced and the number of days they currently have instead of reducing the rest days, as Ryanair intended.
At the time of this strike, pilots also pointed out that they would want the matter brought to the Minister of Justice while highlighting that they needed protection since the airline was not abiding by the rule of law.
The last strike from Belgian Ryanair pilots that happened in mid-August caused around 25 per cent of the flights to be cancelled, which not only impacted the airline but also caused flight cancellations or delays for other travellers.
It is advisable always to purchase travel insurance when travelling to Europe, as in this way, travellers can protect themselves from circumstantial expenses such as medical emergencies or even cancelled flights.
