Ryanair pilots are to hold a 24-hour strike next Friday. The strike, which will begin from midnight on Thursday, is expected to ground most flights from Dublin and Shannon.
The pilots are members of the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) branch of IMPACT. About 80 of them are based in Ireland and another 50 at Stansted. Any IALPA pilots flying into Dublin from Stansted or European locations are expected to join the strike. Flights between London, Glasgow and the Continent will not be affected.
The IMPACT assistant general secretary, Mr Michael Landers, said last night the dispute was over Ryanair's attempt to unilaterally impose increased working hours on members. "This is not about pay, shares or union recognition. The strike is happening because pilots are already working at the limits of their legal hours, yet the company wants to simply abolish a 1994 agreement and impose longer hours."
"Under the existing agreement, pilots work an annualised average of 40 hours a week, and a maximum 50-hour week. Ryanair wants to unilaterally increase the maximum working hours to 55, extendable to 60 if required," Mr Landers said.
He warned that further industrial action was likely unless agreement was reached.
The company responded with a statement claiming that IMPACT was misrepresenting the situation. "Ryanair has not and will not seek to increase pilot working hours", it said. "Pilots' hours are regulated by law, and this is set at a legal maximum of 100 flight hours per month or 900 hours per annum."
It added: "Ryanair's pilots have been offered a package, which will see their annual earnings rise from over £90,000 to over £100,000 per annum. We acknowledge that they work hard and earn this high pay. However, this package of high pay, valuable share options and rapid promotion is unmatched."
It was "impossible to justify how a group of people in Ireland earning £100,000 a year, sitting on share options worth over £100,000 and who are prevented by law from flying more than an average of 25 hours per week could possibly go on strike.
"Ryanair, the other 1,300 people working here and our seven million passengers are not going to be held to ransom by a. . . union whose own statement makes it clear that there are no grievances about pay, or shares, or union recognition. . ."