Ryanair has issued redundancy notices to seven of its most senior Dublin-based pilots telling them they must accept its terms for retraining by the end of the week or leave the airline, Siobhán Creaton, Finance Correspondent.
The pilots, who are locked in a bitter dispute with the airline over pay and conditions, have failed to accept Ryanair's 11 previous offers.
At a meeting in Dublin yesterday Ryanair's director of flight and ground operations, Eddie Wilson, issued two letters to the pilots, one clarifying its last offer and a second giving them notice of redundancy from November 30th. Mr Wilson told the pilots they have a final opportunity to accept one of the previous offers of retraining. If they agree to the airline's terms by the end of this week, the redundancy notices will be withdrawn.
"I very much hope that common sense will prevail and these redundancies can be avoided by accepting one or other of these offers, but if they don't, then the redundancies will become effective as notified on November 30th next," he said in a statement.
Ryanair wants the pilots to proceed with their retraining programme on August 15th, ahead of the arrival of its new 737-800 series aircraft in six weeks. The stand-off over retraining has continued for 10 months and stems from Ryanair's phasing out of its 737-200 series aircraft in Dublin, to be replaced by the new aircraft.
In a number of previous offers Ryanair has said it will pay the €15,000 cost of the pilots' retraining providing they remain with the airline for five years and that Ryanair is not forced to deal with a trade union over that period. It also insisted they drop all claims lodged before the Labour Court, the Labour Relations Commission and the High Court.
Almost all of Ryanair's Irish-based pilots are claiming to have been victimised by the airline and have lodged multiple complaints, which, if upheld, could cost it millions. Sixty-four pilots have also taken High Court proceedings claiming that Ryanair's refusal to negotiate with a union is a breach of their constitutional rights.
In its latest clarification letter Ryanair has given the pilots the option to pay for their own training which releases them from the airline's preconditions. Mr Wilson said: "Such payment will, of course, allow you to maintain your various claims and legal proceedings against the company should you so wish, whilst still guaranteeing you a Dublin base."
The letter goes on to inform the pilots about a conversion course in Amsterdam and provides details of Ryanair's terms of employment at two of its new bases in Hamburg and Pisa. "If you become 737-800 proficient at any time in the future, please let us know immediately so that if a position becomes available at any one of Ryanair's 14 bases, including Dublin, it may be offered to you subject only to no existing Ryanair pilots being available to take the position."