Ryanair pilots in Portugal have voted in favour of industrial action due to their anger at Ryanair’s refusal to negotiate with their representative bodies.
The Portuguese Civil Aviation Union (SPAC) have announced that Ryanair pilots in the country have voted in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action.
According to RTÉ, the vote for industrial action was taken due to pilots’ anger at the failure of Ryanair to negotiate with pilots’ representative bodies and the scandal over thousands of cancelled Ryanair flights earlier this year.
A “landslide” vote at a meeting last Thursday gave the union a mandate to vote for industrial action, with a SPAC statement calling for Ryanair to enter negotiations with a new European Employee Representative Council or with the national pilot association in Portugal.
News of the Portuguese pilots’ vote for strike action comes after it emerged that company councils representing Ryanair pilots have been formed in national aviation unions in Ireland, Italy, Germany and Sweden, as well as Portugal.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “We regularly receive threats of industrial action from competitor airline pilot unions from Italy, Portugal and even Aer Lingus pilots occasionally.
“Both we and our pilots ignore these letters, which only receive coverage on SIPTU TV.”
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