ITF backs United Nations submission over Irish airline Ryanair

June 3, 2011

The ITF is supporting a submission against the Irish government for failing to protect the rights of workers employed by Irish low cost carrier Ryanair.

The submission was made to the United Nations Human Rights Council on 21 March by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). It highlights the Irish government’s non-compliance with International Labour Organization (ILO) convention 98, which promotes workers’ right to organise and collective bargaining as a result of its failure adequately to protect the labour rights of Ryanair workers. This was in response to a supreme court ruling supporting an appeal by Ryanair against a labour court decision, which found in favour of Ryanair pilots; they claimed that the company had refused to negotiate with their union regarding changes in their terms and conditions.

Backing the submission as well as an earlier complaint to the ILO on the same issue by the ICTU, the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union and the Irish Trade Airline Pilots’ Association, ITF general secretary David Cockroft said in a letter to ILO director-general Juan Somavia: “The ITF believes that the conduct of Ryanair as highlighted in the complaint exposes a number of failures in Irish law to protect the rights of workers and trade unions for which the Irish government is responsible as a member of the ILO.”

“While the submission essentially covers the same ground as the complaint, it was with grave concern that I read about the further deterioration of trade union rights in the Republic of Ireland since the supreme court’s decision in Ryanair v Labour Court.”

He urged the committee on freedom of association to find the Republic of Ireland to be in breach of its obligations under ILO convention 98.

ITF backs United Nations submission over Irish airline Ryanair