Through the signing of a cornerstone agreement, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair and German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) will sign four collective labour agreements by the end of March 2019 which will all be based on German law, plus a works council will also be established. As part of the initial agreement there will be no further industrial action taken by German pilots during this period.
By February 2019 German pilots will change from having contracts specific to Irish law to ones based on German law, along with associated protection under German law.
The new agreements will see a major restructuring of pay where previous large variables will be replaced through a substantial raise in basic pay. Co-pilots will receive 100% more guaranteed base pay, captains will receive approximately 33% more, and a massive raise in net pay as of April 2019. The current scheduling model of 5-on-4-off will remain under the new agreement. With the establishment of a works council for Ryanair employees, this will also introduce co-determination for the first time into the company.
“By agreeing to these cornerstones a reentry into constructive negotiations has been enabled, after their failure last summer,“ Martin Locher, president of VC commented, adding: “First I would like to thank our members who have fought for this success with great determination. In addition, our company council at Ryanair did a tremendous job reaching this agreement.
“Based on the change in German labour law of the “Betriebsverfassungsgesetz“ we were able to convince Ryanair of agreeing to a CLA for co-determination. Through his initiative, Minister of labour Hubertus Heil, has closed the loophole that some airlines have been using in the past. We remain hopeful that other airlines will now come to the negotiating table to establish a social partnership with VC.”
