Ryanair pilots based in the UK have voted to stage a series of strikes in a pay dispute with the airline.
The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) says a 48-hour strike will take place on 22nd-23rd August, and a 72-hour strike on 2nd-4th September.
BALPA claims years of refusing to deal with unions has left a Ryanair management "that apparently doesn’t understand how to work with unions".
In a statement, the union said: "Our claim includes many issues including pensions; loss of license insurance; maternity benefits; allowances; and a fair, transparent, and consistent pay structure.
"We have made no progress with Ryanair management on any of those areas at all, seemingly because Ryanair management cannot understand how to go about working with us constructively, or how to negotiate."
We have had no formal offer from Ryanair and it is imperative that we resolve this dispute urgently to avoid strike action. No pilot wants to spoil the public’s travel plans but at the moment it seems we have no choice.
4/— BALPA (@BALPApilots) August 7, 2019
Ryanair, meanwhile, claimed the strike action had the support of less than 30% of the company's pilots.
They said they were "disappointed" by the potential disruption to flights.
The airline said: "The independent result of BALPA’s ballot shows that less than 50% of Ryanair’s UK pilots are members of BALPA, and of these, just 57% voted in favour of industrial action.
"This BALPA industrial action has no mandate from Ryanair pilots, is ill-timed just 10 weeks before Brexit, and will cause unnecessary disruption to customers holidays and travel plans."
They say they have written to BALPA asking for fresh talks.
Ryanair added: "We hope BALPA will now work with Ryanair to minimise job losses instead of undertaking ill-judged and ill-timed industrial action."
Union disputes
In December 2017, Ryanair reversed its long-standing policy of not recongising pilot trade unions in a bid to avert threatened strike action.
Here in Ireland, pilots with the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) are currently being balloted for industrial action.
The association, which is a branch of the Fórsa trade union, cites a "lack of progress" in pay talks with the airline.
The ballot is due to be completed by Friday.
Last year, Ryanair pilots with Fórsa held five days of strikes in a dispute over seniority issues and base transfers.
Following mediated talks, the pilots voted unanimously in favour of a collective agreement addressing the issues.
The latest developments come as the airline has warned that 900 jobs are at risk at the company.
CEO Michael O'Leary has told staff the carrier has an excess of more than 500 pilots and about 400 flight attendants.
Today, a Portuguese cabin crew union told the Reuters news agency that the airline is planning to close a base at Faro International Airport from next year.
Ryanair has yet to announce details of job cuts or base closures.
