Ryanair secured a recognition deal with a key Spanish pilots union yesterday as part of efforts to head off further strike action.
The agreement with the SEPLA union covers all of the low cost carrier’s directly employed pilots in Spain.
Negotiations with the union on a full Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) under Spanish law will start early next month.
The carrier hopes Spanish labour law will apply to all Ryanair pilots in Spain by no later than January 31.
The latest breakthrough follows other agreements signed with unions covering all of the airline’s directly employed Portuguese, UK and Italian pilots.
Ryanair still needs cabin crew unions to join pilots by agreeing recognition deals.
The Irish budget carrier has suffered disruption due to industrial action across the summer and has blamed staff from rival airlines for “blocking progress” in resolving outstanding employee issues.
Ryanair chief people officer, Eddie Wilson said: “These signed agreements with our pilot unions in Spain, Portugal, the UK and Italy again demonstrate the considerable progress we’re making in concluding union agreements with our people in our major EU markets.
“We continue to meet with our people and their unions and we expect that these agreements will encourage the cabin crew unions in both Spain and Portugal in particular to remove competitor airline employees, who have been blocking progress, and to quickly conclude cabin crew agreements in those countries, as that’s what our Portuguese and Spanish cabin crew are now demanding.”