ITF congratulates ver.di on its collective bargaining agreement with Ryanair

ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton responds to ver.di’s announcement that it has concluded a collective bargaining agreement with the low-cost airline. I applaud our affiliate union ver.di on signing a collective bargaining agreement with Ryanair, covering all Germany-based cabin crew. This deal opens the way to fair labour standards in one of the airline’s largest […]


March 29, 2019

ITF stands in solidarity with Fijian air traffic controllers

Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), has written to the president of Fiji expressing solidarity with air traffic controllers in their ongoing dispute with Fijian Airports Limited and demanding action to resolve the situation. Workers represented by the Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA), a national union affiliated to the ITF, […]


New victory for Ryanair workers as labour authority rules on Eindhoven base closure

The Dutch labour authority (UWV) has ruled that Ryanair cannot fire the workers affected by the closure of its base at Eindhoven Airport, marking a significant setback for the airline’s industrial relations model. In October Ryanair announced it planned to close its bases at Eindhoven and Bremen and downsize operations at Weeze, citing the impact […]


March 22, 2019

ITF welcomes Romanian ruling against Wizz Air

The Romanian supreme court has ruled that Wizz Air discriminated against its workers on the basis of their trade union affiliation and activity. In 2014, shortly after informing Wizz that they had formed a trade union to represent the airline’s workers, 19 employees were dismissed from their positions. This punitive action violated both international norms […]


March 13, 2019

Aviation workers: Join the ETF’s Fair Transport Demonstration on 27 March!

Dear Colleagues, As you well know, next 27 March in Brussels, the ETF organizes a demonstration to fight against social dumping and for more and fair jobs in Transport. Aviation workers should not only be part of this demo, but also be visible. Please find attached the banner ‘Ryanair must Change’ that we will be […]


March 12, 2019

ITF calls for civil aviation authorities worldwide to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) welcomes the recent grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and is calling on all remaining civil aviation authorities to follow suit to ensure the safety of both passengers and workers. The recent tragedy in Ethiopia is the second incident in the past six months where a Boeing 737 […]


Aviation needs more women on the flight deck – And in all roles (forbes.com)

By Stephen Rice The Problem The aviation industry faces a worldwide shortage of qualified pilots. Numerous agencies cite the need to hire thousands of new pilots over the next two decades. In fact, some air carriers are already reducing or canceling flight schedules as a result of these pilot shortages. Given this need to hire […]


March 11, 2019

International call for release of Kenyan trade union leaders

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), representing 18 million workers in 147 countries, is calling for the immediate release of Moses Ndiema, secretary general of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), and other union leaders. The trade union leaders were detained as part of government efforts to suppress a strike by workers at Jomo Kenyatta […]


March 8, 2019