Jonnyjade@yahoo.co.uk 07521288521
Ryanairdontcarecrew
22 Nov 2017
RYANAIR PILOTS European Employee Representative Council EERC LETTER TO RYANAIR CHIEF DAVID BONDERMAN.
European Employee Representative Council
council@eerconline.com
Mr David Bonderman
Ryanair Head Office
Airside Business Park
Swords
Co Dublin
21st November 2017
Dear Mr Bonderman,
In September 2017 Ryanair announced the cancellation of an
extraordinary number of flights. This had a particularly negative impact on
our staff and customers. The CEO took full responsibility for these
problems, and some days later the COO resigned. This unleashed a series
of events that have had a profound impact on the pilot body.
The most significant of these events was the public disparagement of
pilots by the company management and the insincere attempt to apologise
for a wrong that should never have happened. The pilot body is the principle
group of employees who can do most to assist the company in recovering
from the fundamental errors that have been made by an out-of-touch
management.
We have made numerous attempts to constructively engage the
company management to address the many underlying problems that are
at the root of the cancellations crisis. Copies of our correspondence are
attached for your information. We still await a reply to all of them.
While denying receipt of these letters, management saw fit to continue
to publicly denigrate us. It is unclear to us, and we can only assume it is
equally unclear to the board, how this approach is going to help resolve our
current crisis, or prevent similar crises in the future. We are concerned that
management’s belief that all will be well after December could be dispelled
when the full extent of pilot resignations becomes apparent with Spring
2018 recruitment in other airlines.
Pilots work at the front line of Ryanair operations, filling the gaps in
rosters and operations, and keeping the show on the road. We can say with
authority that the underlying causes of the cancellation crisis are long
standing, deep rooted and have been evident to pilots for many years.
European Employee Representative Council
The sudden onset of the current crisis, coupled with the misplaced
attempts to solve it, simply confirm how out of touch management has
become. Due to management’s repeated failure to meaningfully engage
with pilots to solve these problems, we have no option but to raise our
concerns directly with the Ryanair board.
Management want to continue to dictate to pilots how we should
represent ourselves. We have made clear that we will decide for ourselves
how we wish to be represented. The major problems exist at two main
levels – the over-arching terms that govern every pilots’ contract, and the
legality of those contracts in the countries in which we are based. For that
reason, we will engage with the company at a whole company level through
our European Employee Representative Council (EERC) to establish a
consistent and simple framework within which all pilots will be treated
equitably. We will use national level representative groups to address the
complexities of income tax, social insurance and employment law in the
different countries in which we live and work.
The management approach that got us into our current difficulties will
not get us out of them. A different approach is urgently required. If the
underlying issues are not addressed, pilots will continue to leave in
increasing numbers, and fewer pilots will join to replace them. The
company’s problems can only be addressed through constructive and
meaningful dialogue. The pilot body is ready and willing to play a
constructive part in such discussions. We have no wish to see these
difficulties escalate to a level that could bring considerably more disruption
to our passengers. Our aim is to stabilise the integrity of the flight schedules
for our passengers by stabilising the employment conditions for our pilots.
We respectfully request that you acknowledge receipt of this letter. We
also request that you provide guidance to company management on how to
constructively engage with us to resolve the many problems that lie at the
root of the cancellations crisis. We can be contacted through our email
address council@eerconline.com and look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours Respectfully
Captain Terry O’Connor
On behalf of the EERC
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