Ryanair pay rise excludes Dublin pilots

RYANAIR’s war of attrition with its Dublin-based pilots continued yesterday when the low cost airline excluded the group from a 3% pay rise awarded to the remainder of its 2,200 employees.

The €3 million wage bill hike comes at a time when the airline is battling with huge increases in aviation fuel costs.

The Dublin-based airline yesterday confirmed that following a round of “direct negotiations” with its mostly non-unionised staff in the month of April, it had implemented a 3% pay increase backdated to April 1, 2005. The company said the 3% increase will apply to all staff groups across Europe who participated in the direct negotiations with the company.

“Only the Dublin-based pilots chose not to negotiate directly with the company and as a result they have not at this time enjoyed a pay increase, however the door remains open to this group should they choose to avail of it. All of Ryanair’s other people will benefit,” the company said.

Ryanair’s director of personnel Eddie Wilson said the salary increase is a reward for the productivity and the dedication of their people who continue to work hard to make Ryanair Europe’s number one low fares airline.

“While traffic growth remains strong, higher oil prices mean that cost control remains vital. Despite high oil prices and over-capacity in many European markets, Ryanair will again be one of the few airlines in Europe to award salary increases and secure careers for our people. This pay increase reinforces the strength of Ryanair’s model whereby people negotiate directly with the company and as a result enjoy better pay and conditions than our low pay unionised competitors,” he said.

Ryanair figures based on recent annual reports shows that the company’s average salary is better that rivals: Ryanair €49,992, Easyjet €46,901, Lufthansa €41,912 and British Airways €41,423.