From the Legal Section of the Times (London):-
Contract workers are denied basic rights
The next time you complain of fees and sardine-tin conditions on a Ryanair flight, spare a thought for some of the airline’s pilots who, a court has ruled, face their own problems.
In a judgment that risks causing price rises for passengers, one of the Irish carrier’s agents was found to be breaching English employment law. It was also accused of exploiting crew.
The Surrey-based Brookfield Aviation International, which supplies pilots for Ryanair’s fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was denying pilots basic rights, a test case at the Mayor’s and City of London Court found.
Lawyers acting for the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, which represented four pilots, argued successfully that Ryanair cockpit crew were unfairly penalised when they left short of their notice period. One pilot faced a €5,000 (£4,320) penalty for leaving shy of his three-month term.
The court also heard claims that pilots were regularly placed on unpaid standby at airports for up to four days in a 28-day period, lawyers said.
William Garnett, of the law firm Bates Wells Braithwaite, which represented the four pilots, said outside court that the practice could be dangerous, as pilots would be loath to refuse short-notice requests to fly, regardless of fitness. Mr Garnett said: “Ryanair wants a de-unionised workforce. It needs a large number of pilots but it refuses to employ them.”
Lawyers said that the court’s decision on penalties would make Ryanair renegotiate terms with many of its 3,000 pilots, half of whom are contracted through Brookfield. Higher passenger fares could result, they said.
The ruling comes after the leak in May of a Ryanair management diktat ordering pilots not to criticise the airline in public. A former air hostess said this year that staff had to fund their own uniforms and safety courses.
Ryanair said that it was “not aware of this [court] case or any ruling”, and it was a matter for the agent to start any appeal. It has used Brookfield for “many years”, but the other 50 per cent of pilots were employed directly, it said.
It denied that it would suffer financially and rejected claims that its practices could put safety at risk. “Ryanair and its pilots fully comply with all EU safety and operating regulations, which underpins Ryanair’s outstanding 29-year safety record,” a spokesman said.
Brookfield declined to comment.