Ryanair pilots will meet on Tuesday to discuss a 20 per cent pay offer from the airline that has been on the table since late last year.
The company is in talks with the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) – part of trade union Fórsa – following its decision in December to recognise labour organisations.
The pilots’ union will hold a series of extraordinary general meetings in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss the pay offer, which Ryanair recently said had been accepted by a number of those flying from its Irish bases.
However, it is understood that the meetings will not result in any ballot or vote on the pay offer, as the union had no input into it and regards it as an addendum to a document that it had no role in drafting.
Sources did suggest that a counter offer could be put to the meetings, which, if members supported it, IALPA would then put to the company.
Ryanair offered the increase to pilots via the employee representative councils that it has used to negotiate with staff instead of unions, which it did not recognise until its policy change in December.
Since then, Ryanair has begun talks with IALPA and equivalent organisations across Europe on a recognition deal.
It is thought that recognition agreements could take weeks to complete. Sources suggest that they are unlikely to be finalised ahead of a global meeting of pilots’ unions in Luxembourg in March.
Ryanair agreed to recognise trade unions to avert strikes at Irish and European bases in the run up to Christmas.
