Almost all Ryanair's Irish-based pilots are claiming to have been victimised by the airline, with some lodging multiple complaints with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
The number of victimisation claims received by the LRC has now topped 200, implying an average of two complaints for each of the roughly 100 Ryanair pilots based in the Republic.
If all of the claims were to be upheld, Ryanair would face a potential compensation bill of more than €52 million.
Ryanair has maintained that its pilots are among the best paid in the industry and can earn up to €130,000 a year.
At this level the maximum award the LRC could make for each complaint would be €260,000. Individual pilots could, in theory, receive multiples of this if they have a number of different complaints upheld and the maximum compensation is awarded.
The victimisation claims stem from efforts by Ryanair to persuade its pilots to accept certain terms and conditions in relation to flying its new fleet of aircraft.
Ryanair told the pilots that they would have to repay the €15,000 cost of the the training if the airline was forced to deal with a trade union within the next five years. The airline does not negotiate with trade unions.
A first round of complaints emerged late last year when Ryanair's eight most senior captains lodged claims with the LRC. In the meantime, most of the remaining Irish-based pilots have followed with separate complaints. It is believed that more complaints could emerge from the same pilots in the future as they claim to have met fresh instances of victimisation in their dealings with Ryanair.
The issue of last year's complaints came to a partial head this week when Ryanair secured leave from the High Court to challenge a decision by Rights Commissioner Tony Bregazzi on the matter. The airline does not accept that Mr Bregazzi has jurisdiction to hear the victimisation complaint of one senior pilot.
Ryanair told the High Court that it does not believe that a trade dispute exists with Impact, the union representing the pilots. It also rejected the idea that it is compelled to negotiate with its employees through a union. The latest case is one of a series faced by Ryanair this year.
The most high-profile of these came last month when the airline's chief executive, Michael O'Leary, was threatened with jail for contempt in proceedings taken by pilot John Goss. Captain Goss had been suspended by the airline but was reinstated to flying duties after the case was settled. As part of the settlement, he agreed to withdraw all his claims of victimisation.
