The owners and operators of Ryanair, the independent airline, are not philanthropists. But few fair-minded people would dispute the immense contribution that the airline has made to this society. Hundreds of thousands of people - for whom air transport was once an expensive luxury - have been able to avail of cheap fares. Ryanair's no-frills approach has allowed those who work in Britain to return much more frequently to their families and friends in Ireland; it has encouraged tourists to travel to this country in record numbers and, not least, it has provided a healthy dose of competition for Aer Lingus. The company and its top management have been well rewarded for their efforts. Last year's successful flotation generated some £64 million for the Ryan family; its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, secured £14 million. Operating profits have increased by 36 per cent to £96.9 million for the six months to the end of September last. After lengthy periods in which its very existence seemed in doubt, Ryanair has emerged triumphant as a confident symbol of what can be achieved when market forces are given full rein and when the grip of Government regulation is loosened.
Through it all however, there has been a ghost at the feast in the form of Ryanair's non-union employees. They have continued to accept lower pay and much less favourable working conditions than their counterparts in Aer Lingus. Employees were prepared to tolerate these conditions of employment when Ryanair was a fledgling airline struggling to make its way. But the current campaign for union recognition by baggage-handlers at Dublin Airport is a signal that their patience is beginning to wear thin.
The case presented by the Ryanair baggage-handlers is not an unreasonable one. They have seen how SIPTU has won a significant pay increase for Servisair - which services other airlines at Dublin Airport - bringing them almost into line with Aer Lingus. By contrast, Ryanair staff are paid £2,400 a year less and enjoy fewer leave entitlements than their Aer Lingus counterparts. It is unclear whether union recognition has now become an article of faith for the workers or whether some would be prepared to halt their industrial action if the company were to make a generous pay offer.
What is clear is that Ryanair management has made a miscalculation. A dispute among a group of low-paid workers should have been swiftly resolved. Instead, the company's uncompromising approach has seen the dispute take on great significance. SIPTU now sees it as a litmus test of the Government's commitment to social partnership. Mr Ruairi Quinn has accused the company of endangering the commitment of ordinary workers to the terms of Partnership 2000. For Ryanair, the awkward truth is that it has only itself to blame. There are two options. It can - like many US multinationals - choose to give its workers generous terms and conditions within a non-union environment. Or it can grant union recognition and negotiate with its workers in the traditional way. What it cannot do, as a rich, successful company is reject both options and give itself the best of both worlds. The continuance of an industrial relations policy that would be more in keeping with the Victorian era, is hardly in the airline's best long-term interest.