LRC to hear Ryanair pilots' case

The Labour Relations Commission has said that it will hear a complaint taken by eight of Ryanair's most senior pilots who are claiming they are being victimised.

A rights commissioner will shortly write to Ryanair and the pilots to invite them to a hearing. The complaint stems from the actions of the airline's senior management, who are seeking to persuade the pilots to accept terms and conditions attached to their training to fly new aircraft.

The pilots are members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA), which is part of the IMPACT trade union. IALPA president Mr Evan Cullen yesterday welcomed the ruling and called on the Irish Aviation Authority to note the proceedings and their outcome.

Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary said it had yet to receive the ruling.

He said the airline had already notified the Labour Court, which is separately to investigate a case taken by IALPA on behalf of some Ryanair pilots relating to their terms and conditions of employment, that it would challenge it in the High Court.

"We have already informed the Labour Court about the High Court proceedings. It is no surprise that the brothers have found in favour of the brothers. We will fight them on the beaches, in the fields and in the valleys," he said.

The eight senior pilots have made this claim as the airline has begun to offer its senior captains conversion training courses to fly its new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Ryanair offered the training course but said it was conditional upon their "understanding and acceptance" of a number of conditions.

The training programme will cost €15,000 and Ryanair said it would write off this debt if they agreed to certain conditions.

The airline said the pilots must remain working at Ryanair for five years and warned that they would have to repay the full training costs if they were represented by a trade union or staff association.

The case, which is to be investigated by the Labour Court, will centre on the pilots' right to training by the airline, their contracts and their rights where redundancies are sought.

The Labour Court findings are binding.

That case was brought under the new Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004. Ryanair is claiming that the Act cannot be used to enforce trade union recognition against an employer, such as Ryanair, which does not engage with trade unions.

The court accepted this submission but noted that the legislation does provide a measure of protection to employees when pay and conditions are not freely determined by collective bargaining.