Unions to target Ryanair at more Danish airports
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 8 Jul, 2015 CET.
Updated: Wed 8 Jul 2015 17:40 CET
After a talk between Ryanair officials and Danish labour union representatives lasted just eight minutes on Wednesday, both sides are upping the ante in their war of words.
The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) said on Wednesday that not only will it follow through on its plans to initiate a strike against Ryanair in Copenhagen on July 18th, it will also target the airline’s operations in both Billund and Aarhus as well beginning on July 23rd.
“Ryanair has unfortunately outright refused to enter a bargaining agreement with the Flight Personnel Union and thus secure their employees salaries and working conditions that are in accordance with the Danish labour market. Therefore LO is issuing another strike warning,” LO’s deputy chairwoman, Lizette Risgaard, told Berlingske.
On Tuesday, two Swedish unions said that they would also join the Danish strike against Ryanair.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said on Tuesday that the airline will drop its Copenhagen base if the strike goes forward as planned.
“We’ve written to the Danish unions asking them to withdraw the threatened sympathy strike in Copenhagen on the 18th of July. If they withdraw that action, we’ll reverse our base closure and save the jobs here in Denmark,” he told TV2.
Following Wednesday’s short-lived and unfruitful meeting, the airline is now also threatening to end its operations at Billund Airport as well.
“We have made it very clear that if there are sympathy actions in Copenhagen that affect Billund we will not accept it and in such case Billund could also be closed,” airline spokesman Eddie Wilson told DR.
Ryanair has operated out of Billund with little controversy since 2006 but its announcement of a Copenhagen base has been met with heavy resistance by the unions.
LO took Ryanair to the Danish Labour Court (Arbejdsretten) to determine whether the airline needs to adhere to Danish or Irish rules while operating at the Copenhagen Airport. The court ruled in LO's favour, clearing the way for a legal strike against Ryanair.
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The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) said on Wednesday that not only will it follow through on its plans to initiate a strike against Ryanair in Copenhagen on July 18th, it will also target the airline’s operations in both Billund and Aarhus as well beginning on July 23rd.
“Ryanair has unfortunately outright refused to enter a bargaining agreement with the Flight Personnel Union and thus secure their employees salaries and working conditions that are in accordance with the Danish labour market. Therefore LO is issuing another strike warning,” LO’s deputy chairwoman, Lizette Risgaard, told Berlingske.
On Tuesday, two Swedish unions said that they would also join the Danish strike against Ryanair.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said on Tuesday that the airline will drop its Copenhagen base if the strike goes forward as planned.
“We’ve written to the Danish unions asking them to withdraw the threatened sympathy strike in Copenhagen on the 18th of July. If they withdraw that action, we’ll reverse our base closure and save the jobs here in Denmark,” he told TV2.
Following Wednesday’s short-lived and unfruitful meeting, the airline is now also threatening to end its operations at Billund Airport as well.
“We have made it very clear that if there are sympathy actions in Copenhagen that affect Billund we will not accept it and in such case Billund could also be closed,” airline spokesman Eddie Wilson told DR.
Ryanair has operated out of Billund with little controversy since 2006 but its announcement of a Copenhagen base has been met with heavy resistance by the unions.
LO took Ryanair to the Danish Labour Court (Arbejdsretten) to determine whether the airline needs to adhere to Danish or Irish rules while operating at the Copenhagen Airport. The court ruled in LO's favour, clearing the way for a legal strike against Ryanair.
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