BERLIN, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Pilots in Germany have reached awage agreement with Ryanair for the first time, theairline and its pilots' union said on Wednesday, a boost to thebudget carrier which is facing industrial unrest elsewhere inEurope.
Pilots in Germany were responsible for Ryanair's first everstrike in late 2017 that contributed towards the proudlyno-frills airline recognising unions for the first time in its32-year history to avert wider disruption.
The Irish carrier has struck pay deals in a number of otherEuropean markets, quelling a series of strikes that followed ayear ago, but it has failed to do so with others and faceswalkouts by British and Spanish pilots this month.
Under the German deal, pilots will be paid more and willbenefit from better protection in case of layoffs, the VC unionsaid, adding that the parties had agreed on future talks whichwould include the possible creation of a works council.
The collective agreements made clear that German law appliesto employment relationships and included provisions to cushionthe hit any possible base closures or reductions may cause, VCsaid in a statement.
Ryanair's said the agreement will cover all directlyemployed pilots in Germany until March 2023.
While widespread strikes over pay and conditions a year agoforced Ryanair to cancel hundreds of flights, the first seriesof strikes since then in Britain, Spain and Portugal has causedminimal disruption in recent weeks.
Some of the next round of strikes by British pilots and bothpilots and cabin crew in Spain are due to coincide with eachother.
"The agreement must not obscure the fact that we still havea lot of work ahead of us to make the Europe-wide slogan of thetrade unions "Ryanair must change!" come true. This isdemonstrated not least by the ongoing labour disputes in othercountries," VC lawyer Tanja Viehl said in a statement.
"With the signing of collective agreements for the Germanpilots, we are taking an important step forward in the demandfor more employee rights at Ryanair in Germany."(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel in Berlin and Padraic Halpin inDublin, Editing by Thomas Seythal and David Evans)