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18th May 2015

Lord Mayor of Copenhagen bans 45,000 public servants from using Ryanair

Mayor Frank Jensen isn’t a fan of the Irish budget airline

Oisin Collins

Workers for the City of Copenhagen will have to find cheap flights elsewhere.

The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, recently announced Copenhagen’s 45,000 city employees were banned from using Ryanair for official travel, even if it is the cheapest option – they can still do what they like on their own time.

According to the high-ranking official, the move was made over wages the airline pays to staff and a reported lack of a Danish collective bargaining agreement.

Speaking over on Facebook, Jensen said: “Copenhagen municipality will not accept social dumping. This is why do we not use companies such as Ryanair or others who do not offer their workers decent wages and working conditions.”

Københavns kommune accepter ikke social dumping. Derfor bruger vi ikke firmaer som Ryanair – eller andre, som ikke…

Posted by Frank Jensen on Sunday, 17 May 2015

In an interview with Danish newspaper Berlingske Jensen elaborated further: “Here in Copenhagen we have fought hard against the scourge of social dumping.

“Therefore we require all of those who deliver services to the municipality, including those who would sell us plane tickets, to offer their employees proper salaries and working conditions.

“Thus, we already have a ban on flying with Ryanair. Our rules mean that we cannot enter contracts or buy goods from suppliers that do not pay proper salaries.”

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Robin Kiely of Ryanair said: “’We are surprised at Mayor Jensen’s inaccurate comments, which don’t take into account of the fact that Ryanair’s pilots and cabin crew enjoy high pay, job security and already have a collective agreement with Ryanair.”

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