DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ryanair on Tuesday announced a four-year pay deal with its Irish pilots union, including immediate restoration of pay that was cut to help the airline through the COVID-19 pandemic, but the union said the deal was subject to a vote by members.
The budget carrier in July said it had reached similar agreements with 85% of its pilots unions, leaving just the Irish and Belgian pilot unions to sign up. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the talks in Belgium.
“This agreement, which includes annual pay increases for the next four years, now brings our Irish pilots into line with similar pay restoration deals concluded with our other pilot unions across Europe,” Ryanair People Director Darrell Hughes said in a statement.
A statement by the Fórsa trade union said the proposals, which included “post-Covid pay restoration measures brought forward from 2023 in addition to pay restructuring measures”, would be put to a ballot of members. The union said it would recommend pilots to vote in favour.
The deal was agreed last Friday after talks at the country’s Workplace Relations Commission, the union said.
Ryanair and Fórsa both declined to comment on the specific pay increases included.
A source close to the negotiations said the deal included “pay restructuring” next year followed by a low single digit percentage increase in each of the following three years.
The Irish airline, which was hit by significant pilot strikes in 2018, experienced minor disruption from strikes by cabin crew last summer.
(Writing by Conor HumphriesEditing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)
