DUBLIN: Ryanair on Friday proposed that a third-party mediator step into talks with a trade union representing its Irish pilots who went on strike for a fourth time on Friday before wider stoppages planned around Europe next week.
The Forsa trade union, which had called for such mediation, welcomed Ryanair’s response and said it would recommend it to pilots.
Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers agreed to recognize unions for the first time late last year but negotiations since have faltered.
It has seen strikes in some of its biggest markets including Ireland, Spain and Italy as it struggles to reach collective labor agreements with trade unions.
Around a quarter of Ryanair’s 350 pilots based in Ireland have taken part in a series of one-day strikes and a number picketed in the rain outside Dublin airport on Friday morning.
Ryanair has limited the damage from the Irish strikes so far and said passengers on the 20 flights it canceled from the 300 that flew in and out of Ireland on Friday were either put on another flight or refunded.
However, it faces greater disruption next Friday with Irish pilots joining colleagues in Sweden and Belgium on strike, and Ryanair braced for action in Germany and the Netherlands on the same day.
Ryanair shares were down 0.7 percent at 12.92 euros by 1150 GMT, near two-year lows and well below the level hit in December when it shocked the markets by ending 32 years of refusing to recognize unions.
While the Irish airline has signed recognition deals in some markets, it has failed to do so in others and not yet reached any collective labor agreements.
“This is part and parcel of life in aviation when you recognize unions,” Ryanair Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs told Ireland’s Newstalk radio station, pointing to years of wrangling over pay and conditions at rival Lufthansa.
“There is going to be disruption, it will be small, we will manage it... We are making progress around the rest of Europe, strikes can be part of that process, they are not helpful, but we will get collective labor agreements in place over the autumn in our key markets.”
Ryanair proposes mediator for Irish pilots union talks
Ryanair proposes mediator for Irish pilots union talks
Free trade negotiations between GCC, India mark new phase of partnership, says sec-gen
RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general affirmed that the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, represents a new phase of strategic partnership.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said that this contributes to enhancing close cooperation and strengthening economic and trade ties, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This came during the signing ceremony of the joint statement on launching the free trade agreement negotiations between the Al-Budaiwi and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, which took place in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
During the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi said that the Terms of Reference, signed on Feb. 5, provide a comprehensive and clear framework for these negotiations. The two nations agreed to discuss enhancing cooperation in vital strategic areas, including trade in goods, customs procedures, and services.
Additionally, the framework covers Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, along with other topics of mutual interest. This reflects the comprehensive nature of the agreement and its ability to keep pace with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi expressed hope that these negotiations would lead to a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that works to remove customs and non-customs barriers, enhance the flow of quality investments in both directions, and achieve further liberalization in trade and investment cooperation between the GCC and India for mutual benefit.
This would provide a stimulating economic environment and an investment climate that opens broad horizons for the business sector, supports supply chains, and accelerates the pace of economic growth in line with the ambitious developmental visions of the GCC states.
The top official affirmed the full readiness of the General Secretariat to host the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh during the second half of this year.
The two sides held a meeting during which they reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the GCC and India and discussed ways to develop and elevate them to broader horizons, serving mutual interests and enhancing opportunities for strategic partnership between the two sides, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade fields.
They praised the role undertaken by the negotiating teams from both sides, appreciating the efforts contributing to reaching a comprehensive agreement that enhances economic integration and supports the smooth flow of trade between the two nations.
