Latest: Ryanair regrets 'unnecessary' four hour German strike threat
Ryanair sincerely regrets receiving notice of a threatened four-hour pilot strike in Germany tomorrow.
In a statement issued by Ryanair, the airline said the disruption is "unjustified and unnecessary".
Ryanair has written to its German pilots this afternoon asking them to work as normal tomorrow to avoid disrupting the travel plans of thousands of German passengers during Christmas week.
Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said: “Ryanair apologises sincerely to any German customers worried or affected by this threatened four-hour strike tomorrow morning.
"We hope that our German pilots will put the needs of our customers first during Christmas week.
"We advise all customers in Germany to turn up as normal tomorrow, as we plan to operate all scheduled flights, and we will be doing our utmost to minimise any disruptions to the Christmas travel plans of our German customers.”
Ryanair is facing a four hour strike by pilots in Germany three days before Christmas.
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) trade union confirmed all pilots directly employed by the airline are being asked to join a walk-out from 5.01am until 8.59am (local time) on Friday.
The damaging disruption came after the low-cost carrier narrowly avoided a strike by crew operating out of Ireland.
VC said all Ryanair flights at German airports will be affected.
The union accused the airline's management of disregarding the principles of trade union autonomy and claimed it is not committed to constructive talks.
VC said the dispute deepened after initial negotiations, scheduled for Wednesday, were cancelled at short notice over the presence of two members of its team.
Ingolf Schumacher, head of VC's industrial department, said: "Ryanair's public offer to conduct negotiations with VC can only be classified as a further publicity stunt.
"In the history of the VC, there has never been a case in which the collective bargaining autonomy has been trampled on by an employer as is now the case with Ryanair.
"This makes it clear to VC that the company is not interested in a mutually constructive co-operation, based on trust and equality. Rather, Ryanair is trying to win time and attempting to delay the beginning of collective bargaining."
VC said it regretted the disruption for passengers.
Strike action has been averted at Ryanair once again after the airline wrote to IMPACT setting out its plans to recognise the pilots’ union.
It follows landmark talks between unions and management on Tuesday when the airline said it would also recognise cabin crew unions as well as those of pilots.
The decision wiped billions off the value of the company as investors reacted to the seismic change in policy.
IMPACT Assistant General Secretary Ashley Connolly confirmed the receipt of correspondence that "accepts and recognises the union for collective bargaining purposes".
"We have also agreed to an invitation for a meeting on January 3 where we will hope to get into agreement of the procedures of what that collective bargaining will look like," Ms Connolly said.
"We do believe today is an historic achievement," she added.
In a statement this afternoon a Ryanair spokesperson said the company had written to the Impact union this morning confirming in writing that it is recognising Impact and its Ryanair Company Pilot Council.
It went on: "Ryanair has also submitted a set of proposals on pay and conditions, procedures and dispute resolution for its Irish based pilots, and looks forward to concluding an early agreement on these issues with its Irish Ryanair pilot company council.”
Ryanair has written to IMPACT setting out its plans to recognise the pilots’union.
IMPACT had given the airline a midday deadline saying that strike action could be renewed if an agreement was not delivered.
Ryanair met with pilots and union reps on Tuesday in a massive U-turn on its long-standing policy.
Bernard Harbor from IMPACT said pilots are now considering the contents of the letter
"We very recently received correspondence from Ryanair in response to the meeting we held on Tuesday evening," he said.
"My colleagues are now considering that correspondence. We'll also be talking to the representatives of Ryanair pilots who were also involved in Tuesday's meeting," Mr Harbor added.
"We hope to be able to with more substance before too long," he said.
Ryanair has written to pilots saying it will contact their trade union today about formal union recognition.
Union representatives and pilots met with airline management for the first time on Tuesday in a dramatic shift of its policy not to deal with unions.
It came after pilots threatened a one day strike which could still go ahead if a written agreement is not delivered.
IMPACT has asked for a document confirming Ryanair’s commitment to union recognition by midday, which it is expecting it will get before the deadline.
Ryanair has until noon to come up with a document to satisfy pilots’ union IMPACT.
The union met with management on Tuesday in a historic shift for the airline.
But IMPACT says it wants a document confirming its commitment to recognise the union.
On Tuesday members of pilots group, IALPA and its parent union IMPACT sat down with management for a meeting described by the airline as positive.
It followed cancellation of a planned 24-hour strike by Dublin-based pilots.
The union said it was disappointed that management did not put its intention to recognise the union on a piece of paper.
IMPACT has given Ryanair until midday today to come up with a document and said strike action can be implemented in the absence of a timely agreement.
