Ryanair cabin crew agree pay cuts to save jobs

(Sharecast News) - Cabin crew at budget carrier Ryanair have agreed to take temporary pay cuts to avert planned job losses due to the coronavirus crisis, the Unite union said on Wednesday.
The deal means workers will see a temporary pay cut of 5% for the lowest paid, 7.5% for others, and 10% for the highest paid.

Ryanair agreed to give the cash back in two tranches in 2023 and 2024, or earlier if business returns to pre-Covid levels of business sooner.

Airlines around the world have started imposing job cuts as the pandemic and associated lockdowns crippled passenger travel, leaving aircraft grounded and companies burning through cash reserves.

Unite members employed at Ryanair have been balloted on the agreement and voted to accept the deal, the union said, and acknowledged the airline's "constructive approach".

Union assistant general secretary Diana Holland said the agreement "shows that the company has taken a more constructive and less damaging approach to dealing with the issues than many of its competitor airlines".

British Airways has come under fire over plans to sack 12,000 staff and change employment terms for the remaining 30,000 employees.

A Unite poll of more than 2,000 people, three out of five of whom were British Airways passengers, found 61% believed BA was taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis to boost shareholder profits.

Almost seven out of 10 agreed that the airline's lucrative Heathrow landing slots deal should be reviewed.

"If BA press ahead to create a new and unrecognisable airline, it should not continue to benefit from its domination of lucrative legacy take-off and landing slots," Unite said.

"British Airways has lost the trust of its workforce, politicians and the country. "The only way (it) can retrieve its reputation as the world's best loved airline and protect its lucrative landing slots, is to withdraw its unprecedented attack on staff and enter into sensible negotiations."