Ryanair Pilots put it up to O'Leary

Muahahaha · 12-12-2017 03:43PM #1

Dublin based Ryanair pilots have served notice of a one day strike on the 20th of December. In a ballot 94% of the pilots asked favoured industrial action so that they can be recognised by a union and collectively negotiate their wages and conditions.

The majority of pilots intending to strike are captains. A plane cannot legally fly without a captain so lots of flights will be grounded at huge cost to the airline and a big inconvenience to their passengers right before Xmas.

This dispute has now developed into a game of hardball between Michael OLeary and the pilots. He is on record as calling them glorified taxi drivers and has treated them with contempt throughout the years. OLeary is a major shareholder in Ryanair so needs to sort this out asap. On the other hand he has hung his hat on never dealing with unions. If the airline suffers substantial losses and reputational damage due to the Dublin strike (and others in Europe) then he will quickly come under pressure from other major shareholders to either do a u-turn or resign.

So AH do you support the Ryanair pilots strike? Must say I do and Im getting a large buttered popcorn to watch how this one plays out.

Guy:Incognito · 12-12-2017 03:47PM

They did take the job with the pay and conditions laid out in front of them.....

TomSweeney · 12-12-2017 03:55PM

Im against it cos I don't want my flights to be cancelled over Christmas :mad:

Bob Harris · 12-12-2017 05:16PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

This dispute has now developed into a game of hardball between Michael OLeary and the pilots. He is on record as calling them glorified taxi drivers and has treated them with contempt throughout the years. OLeary is a major shareholder in Ryanair so needs to sort this out asap. On the other hand he has hung his hat on never dealing with unions. If the airline suffers substantial losses and reputational damage due to the Dublin strike (and others in Europe) then he will quickly come under pressure from other major shareholders to either do a u-turn or resign.

So AH do you support the Ryanair pilots strike? Must say I do and Im getting a large buttered popcorn to watch how this one plays out.

I would like to think that O'Leary would like to sort this out to avoid major inconvenience to Ryanair passengers rather than protecting the value of his shareholding.

Enjoy the popcorn.

Gatling · 12-12-2017 05:23PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Dublin based Ryanair pilots have served notice of a one day strike on the 20th of December. In a ballot 94% of the pilots asked favoured industrial action so that they can be recognised by a union and collectively negotiate their wages and conditions

But less than 50% of actual staff were balloted

12-12-2017 05:26PM

They did it knowing full well that it would damage the holiday plans of thousands of people. They're c*nts. Stick it to O' Leary, not other people.

RayM · 12-12-2017 05:29PM

Deleted User wrote: »

They're c*nts. Stick it to O' Leary, not other people.

They have stuck it to him. And it's up to him to decide whether it's worth inconveniencing people over.

suicide_circus · 12-12-2017 05:33PM

RayM wrote: »

They have stuck it to him. And it's up to him to decide whether it's worth inconveniencing people over.

The pilots for their part have decided that it is

RhubarbCrumble · 12-12-2017 05:35PM

No, I bloody don't because my Xmas plans are hanging in the balance now.

Cordell · 12-12-2017 05:41PM

Yeah, I'm sure they didn't plan to strike just in the right moment so to inconvenience the largest amount of passengers and inflict as much damage as possible, it is just a coincidence. They can strike in February or any other quiet month to show some consideration to passengers, but no.

blanch152 · 12-12-2017 05:55PM

Was the ballot conducted within the requirements of the Industrial Relations Act?

Is it therefore a valid ballot?

Has sufficient notice been given?

I fully support the right of any group of workers to take industrial action, once it is within the law and under the constraints laid down by the law. If that is the case, then yes, I support the workers. If they have conducted an illegal ballot and/or are taking illegal industrial action, then I do not support them.

Hazys · 12-12-2017 06:24PM

I don't get it, why do they need to form a union? Unions originally were created to prevent factory workers with no other options being used as slave labor 100 years ago.

If the pilots don't like the work conditions that they agreed to with Ryanair, why can't they just find a new job with one of the 100 other airlines operating around Europe?

If pilots start leaving Ryanair en masse, Ryanair will be forced to change their tune like every other workplace.

Arcade_Tryer · 12-12-2017 06:45PM

Deleted User wrote: »

They did it knowing full well that it would damage the holiday plans of thousands of people. They're c*nts. Stick it to O' Leary, not other people.

Awww the poor people.

Muahahaha · 12-12-2017 07:10PM

Gatling wrote: »

But less than 50% of actual staff were balloted

AFAIK it is even less than 50%, perhaps about 30%. But in real terms its the important 30% in that the majority are captains (all flights legally need a captain to operate) and unusually they are also employed directly by Ryanair rather than being employed by agencies. These are captains who have been with Ryanair for a long time, well before the use of agency pilots became the norm.

FTA69 · 12-12-2017 07:37PM

Hazys wrote: »

I don't get it, why do they need to form a union? Unions originally were created to prevent factory workers with no other options being used as slave labor 100 years ago.

If the pilots don't like the work conditions that they agreed to with Ryanair, why can't they just find a new job with one of the 100 other airlines operating around Europe?

If pilots start leaving Ryanair en masse, Ryanair will be forced to change their tune like every other workplace.

If those factory workers didn't like their conditions why didn't they just leave and get new jobs in the hundreds of other factories that were there? Then the bosses would have changed their tune!

Unions were set up to fight for workers, end of story. Funnily enough the people who be moaning about workers rarely have the same level of criticism for employer's federations who frequently lobby for wages to be lowered and for them to be given the rights to sack people whenever and for whatever. Capital is organised to advance its interests and workers need to do the same. The decline in organised labour is one of the biggest reasons we have the spiralling inequality we have now - people at the top making billions in profit while real wages stagnate and prices and rents go up. B*llocks to that. I feel for anyone inconvenienced over this (I may well be one of them) but the fault lies with O'Leary for his intransigence and bull-headed refusal to deal with his workforce collectively.

Only today a construction campaign I'm involved with won around £200k in unpaid holiday pay because the concrete workers threatened a stoppage on a major skyscraper site after a period of organisation and agitation. Great news all around for me today.

Stephen15 · 12-12-2017 08:06PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

AFAIK it is even less than 50%, perhaps about 30%. But in real terms its the important 30% in that the majority are captains (all flights legally need a captain to operate) and unusually they are also employed directly by Ryanair rather than being employed by agencies. These are captains who have been with Ryanair for a long time, well before the use of agency pilots became the norm.

A long time as in what 10 years, 20 years perhaps even more. We all know that most of Ryanair's growth has come over the last 20 years. So most captains would be likely working for agencies.

end of the road · 12-12-2017 08:22PM

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

They did take the job with the pay and conditions laid out in front of them.....

they did but those conditions now need to change. they were never good enough in the first place.
this couldn't happen to a nicer company, it has been years in the making in my opinion.

Hazys wrote: »

I don't get it, why do they need to form a union? Unions originally were created to prevent factory workers with no other options being used as slave labor 100 years ago.

If the pilots don't like the work conditions that they agreed to with Ryanair, why can't they just find a new job with one of the 100 other airlines operating around Europe?

If pilots start leaving Ryanair en masse, Ryanair will be forced to change their tune like every other workplace.

it's not their job to go and work for another company, when they could improve the conditions in ryanair, which will benefit future generations. pilots have been leaving ryanair apparently, but it's not working in terms of changing the company. the unions are necessary to fight for workers rights, as what they were set up to do. they are also necessary to insure any company can not engage in practices that don't meet high quality working expectations.

CeilingFly · 12-12-2017 08:28PM

Gatling wrote: »

But less than 50% of actual staff were balloted

Just over 26% of pilots in Dublin are members of ialpa. Less than 50% of this 26% voted.

So less than 13% of pilots actually voted and how many voted to strike?

As usual, impact trade union are behind this.

The pilots may find to their cost that Ryanair is not like bus eireann or Irish rail.

Ralf and Florian · 12-12-2017 08:31PM

Glad that someones sticking it to that arrogant cnunt.

FTA69 · 12-12-2017 08:36PM

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

Glad that someones sticking it to that arrogant cnunt.

I mean we should support it for that alone.

end of the road · 12-12-2017 08:38PM

CeilingFly wrote: »

Just over 26% of pilots in Dublin are members of ialpa. Less than 50% of this 26% voted.

So less than 13% of pilots actually voted and how many voted to strike?

As usual, impact trade union are behind this.

The pilots may find to their cost that Ryanair is not like bus eireann or Irish rail.

i heard on the radio today that pilots at other bases are looking at strike action as well. it's not just those in dublin.

ryan air is exactly like bus eireann and irish rail in terms of strike action as any strike has the potential for gain or loss by striking workers.

12-12-2017 08:42PM

end of the road wrote: »

i heard on the radio today that pilots at other bases are looking at strike action as well. it's not just those in dublin.

ryan air is exactly like bus eireann and irish rail in terms of strike action as any strike has the potential for gain or loss by striking workers.

And to Hell with those who pay their wages - the flying public.

Hazys · 12-12-2017 08:44PM

FTA69 wrote: »

If those factory workers didn't like their conditions why didn't they just leave and get new jobs in the hundreds of other factories that were there? Then the bosses would have changed their tune!

TBF workers in those days had no options like i said, these pilots could leave tomorrow and get a new job with a new airline.

Unions were set up to fight for workers, end of story. Funnily enough the people who be moaning about workers rarely have the same level of criticism for employer's federations who frequently lobby for wages to be lowered and for them to be given the rights to sack people whenever and for whatever. Capital is organised to advance its interests and workers need to do the same. The decline in organised labour is one of the biggest reasons we have the spiralling inequality we have now - people at the top making billions in profit while real wages stagnate and prices and rents go up. B*llocks to that. I feel for anyone inconvenienced over this (I may well be one of them) but the fault lies with O'Leary for his intransigence and bull-headed refusal to deal with his workforce collectively.

Only today a construction campaign I'm involved with won around £200k in unpaid holiday pay because the concrete workers threatened a stoppage on a major skyscraper site after a period of organisation and agitation. Great news all around for me today.

Fair enough on the other two points on the value of unions in general but from what i read in the aviation forum, people are of the opinion of this is much as a union power grab as it is to caring about the pilots welfare. Unions are needed in certain industries as government regulation is enough to protect them but i'm not of the opinion that every industry needs unions and in this instance, i'm still skeptical.

NIMAN · 12-12-2017 08:56PM

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

Glad that someones sticking it to that arrogant cnunt.

.....by ruining the Xmas travel plans of a lot of innocent travellers.

I am always baffled by how much support these striking workers get from the general public, when they deliberately go out of their way to inflict as much disruption on the general public to get at their employer.

They always pick big days to strike.

FTA69 · 12-12-2017 08:59PM

Hazys wrote: »

Fair enough on the other two points on the value of unions in general but from what i read in the aviation forum, people are of the opinion of this is much as a union power grab as it is to caring about the pilots welfare. Unions are needed in certain industries as government regulation is enough to protect them but i'm not of the opinion that every industry needs unions and in this instance, i'm still skeptical.

In fairness the same argument you're applying to them was used back then, "if you don't like the conditions then work somewhere else, you're a grown free man with agency and choice" etc etc "you knew the pay and conditions when you took the job" etc etc. That same argument is now being applied to workers today whose wages have stagnated and who face now added pressures of insecurity, precarity, fewer rights at work than before and also rising rents etc.

If workers in any industry for whatever reason want to negotiate collectively then that is their right.

Don Kiddick · 12-12-2017 08:59PM

FTA69 wrote: »

If those factory workers didn't like their conditions why didn't they just leave and get new jobs in the hundreds of other factories that were there? Then the bosses would have changed their tune!

Unions were set up to fight for workers, end of story. Funnily enough the people who be moaning about workers rarely have the same level of criticism for employer's federations who frequently lobby for wages to be lowered and for them to be given the rights to sack people whenever and for whatever. Capital is organised to advance its interests and workers need to do the same. The decline in organised labour is one of the biggest reasons we have the spiralling inequality we have now - people at the top making billions in profit while real wages stagnate and prices and rents go up. B*llocks to that. I feel for anyone inconvenienced over this (I may well be one of them) but the fault lies with O'Leary for his intransigence and bull-headed refusal to deal with his workforce collectively.

Only today a construction campaign I'm involved with won around £200k in unpaid holiday pay because the concrete workers threatened a stoppage on a major skyscraper site after a period of organisation and agitation. Great news all around for me today.

Yeah....but can you fly a plane?!?

end of the road · 12-12-2017 09:00PM

NIMAN wrote: »

.....by ruining the Xmas travel plans of a lot of innocent travellers.

I am always baffled by how much support these striking workers get from the general public, when they deliberately go out of their way to inflict as much disruption on the general public to get at their employer.

They always pick big days to strike.

of course they always pick big days. only an idiot would pick a small day for a strike.
the reason workers will get some support is they don't strike for nothing. if they are on strike it's for good reason, even if some may not agree with the reasons, after all those staff won't be paid for the duration of the strike.

737max · 12-12-2017 09:03PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

AFAIK it is even less than 50%, perhaps about 30%. But in real terms its the important 30% .

That's the sort of solidarity that typifies all that is wrong with the modern Union movement.

NIMAN · 12-12-2017 09:08PM

end of the road wrote: »

of course they always pick big days. only an idiot would pick a small day for a strike.
the reason workers will get some support is they don't strike for nothing. if they are on strike it's for good reason, even if some may not agree with the reasons, after all those staff won't be paid for the duration of the strike.

Well I'm just saying, if they ruined my plans to get home for Xmas, they wouldn't be receiving any support from me.

FTA69 · 12-12-2017 09:09PM

Don Kiddick wrote: »

Yeah....but can you fly a plane?!?

I'll give it a bash like. I was a dab hand at Ace Combat on the PS1.

peasant · 12-12-2017 09:18PM

It's not just the Irish pilots that want to strike...pilots from bases in Italy, Portugal and Germany are threatening the same.
The Italians are supposed to start tomorrow.

Ryanair Pilots put it up to O'Leary

Do you support the Ryanair pilots strike 179 votes

Comments