LONDON: Ryanair said it would allow Britain’s pilots’ association to start negotiating on issues such as pay and holidays after the Irish budget airline recognized a trade union for the first time in its 32-year history.
Europe’s biggest budget airline was forced last year to recognize unions in order to avoid a Christmas strike, after it had to cancel 20,000 flights earlier in the year due to a shortage of standby pilots.
Ryanair thanked the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) for its constructive engagement and called on others around Europe to follow suit.
“Given Ryanair’s previous hostility toward unions, today’s agreement is a historic one,” Brian Strutton, General Secretary of BALPA, said in a statement.
“While we were initially skeptical about Ryanair’s sincerity in offering recognition to us and other unions, our conversations and meetings with them have shown that they are genuine in wanting a constructive trade union relationship.”
BALPA said it would open an election for representatives among its members to lead negotiations with Ryanair on pay, holidays and the rostering of pilots. Issues with pilot rostering triggered last year’s mass flight cancelations.
Ryanair is negotiating with other unions across Europe, who have demanded to meet collectively with Ryanair, saying that individual talks were unsatisfactory. The airline has so far refused those demands.
“We now call on these unions to stop wasting time and act quickly to deliver 20 percent pay increases to our pilots in February, and conclude formal recognition agreements, which they are presently sitting on,” Eddie Wilson, chief people officer at Ryanair, said in a statement.
Pilots at all Ryanair’s UK bases have voted to accept Ryanair’s proposed pay increase, with pilots at Stansted approving the package earlier this month. Those votes were separate to negotiations with BALPA.
BALPA’s Strutton also said that he hoped Ryanair would be able to agree deals with other European unions soon.
“I am hopeful that this is (the) beginning of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between BALPA and Ryanair and I urge Ryanair to agree deals with pilot unions in other countries and with cabin crew unions,” Strutton said.
Ryanair agrees to recognize British pilots union for first time
Ryanair agrees to recognize British pilots union for first time
DP World announces new leadership appointments
DUBAI: DP World announced the appointment of Essa Kazim as Chairman of its Board of Directors and the appointment of Yuvraj Narayan as Group Chief Executive Officer.
Essa Kazim currently serves as Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Chairman of Borse Dubai. He brings extensive experience in financial and economic affairs, having previously held senior leadership positions in several national institutions.
Yuvraj Narayan has extensive professional experience in financial management, corporate finance, supply chains, and global trade. Since joining DP World in 2004, he has led a number of strategic and transformational initiatives that supported the company’s expansion across international markets and strengthened its role as an integrated global provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions.
Narayan has served as Group Chief Financial Officer since 2005, contributing to the company’s financial resilience and operational efficiency.
DP World affirmed that the new appointments support its strategy for sustainable growth and reinforce its role in strengthening global supply chains and supporting Dubai’s position as a leading hub for trade and logistics.
