Here's what ALPA says about Ryan Air
Thinking About Working for Ryanair? Think Again!
As you may know, Ryanair has contacted Flight Operations in an effort to recruit United pilots. Do not become victimized by this airline. Ryanair has a long history of sub-contracting work to lower paid employees and takes the tack that cost takes precedence over quality. Avoiding unions all together, Ryanair has used assorted techniques including “victimizing and dismissing union activists, threatening to relocate or close the company, distributing anti-union literature, holding captive meetings, ignoring union grievances, creating non-union consultative structures, and refusing union access to the workplace.” This is according to a white paper by Michael O'Sullivan and Patrick Gunnigle, entitled, "Bearing All the Hallmarks of Oppression: Union Avoidance in Europe's Largest Low Cost Airline."
Their strategies center on forcing a deliberate high turnover of employees. Ryanair’s cost cutting also includes crews paying for their own training, uniforms and meals. The cost of training has been inflated to higher than actual in an attempt to force pilots to remain at work beyond their desire. In 2006, the Irish High Court, in ruling on a different matter, described the conditions attached to the re-training of pilots as “most onerous” conditions, which “bore all the hallmarks of oppression.”
“Ryanair is an example of a ’low road’ employment where its business model directly influences its industrial relations approach to the detriment of employees.”
Ryanair is not the place you want to be. Your talents can be better employed elsewhere.
(Produced by the MEC Communications Committee)