Ryanair pilots in Spain reject new pay deal

PILOTS at Ryanair’s Madrid base have overwhelmingly rejected the low-cost airlines offer of pay rises up to 22% it is reported.

The new pay deals were offered after the airline was forced to cancel more than 20,000 flights affecting more than 700,000 passengers after a ‘mess up’ over the rostering of pilots’ holiday leave.

The airline has also seen staff leave to rival airlines with 140 defecting to Norwegian Air this year.

Pay rises of up to €12,000 per year were on the table for captains and €6,000 for first officers. 

But the offer was conditional on pilots continuing to negotiate solely through local Employee Representative Committees at individual bases, rather than through unions.

However, according to sources, the pilots rejected the proposals by 80.88% to 19.12%.

Pilots are also concerned about Ryanair’s employment system where many pilots are employed through agencies or special companies, rather than through direct contracts.

Flight deck crews are also trying to form a company-wide group, bypassing the existing structure which requires each of Ryanair’s 86 bases to negotiate deals separately.