This Friday, September 28, Ryanair pilots stationed in the Netherlands will be joining in with the international Ryanair cabin crew strike, which involves crew from the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Italy. So, if you are planning on flying that day, be warned that your flight may not go as you planned.

Strikes in the Netherlands

This is not the first strike that Ryanair employees have carried out. On August 10, pilots in the Netherlands and four other European countries went on strike. Ryanair handled the situation by having replacement pilots fly the planes to prevent cancellations. Despite this measure, 55.000 travellers across Europe were affected.

According to the Dutch Airline Pilots Association (VNV), since the last strike on August 10, nothing has changed in the negotiations with Ryanair. Employees at the Irish company have been striking for months for better employment conditions.

Better employment conditions

Currently, pilots in the Netherlands working for Ryanair are subject to Irish employment laws, but these offer less protection than the Dutch employment laws. Pilots in the Netherlands want the Dutch employment laws to apply to them. Ryanair staff member also want better holiday arrangements, higher salaries and a stop to be put to sudden transfers to bases abroad.

Despite strikes all over Europe, no major breakthroughs have been made. In Italy, pilots have managed to agree on a collective labour agreement and a partial agreement has been made in Ireland, however, no satisfactory agreement has been made for the rest of the European employees.

Travellers in the Netherlands affected

Travellers in the Netherlands may feel more of the strike this time. As previously mentioned, last time Ryanair had replacement pilots fly the planes to avoid cancellations, but this time they have been forbidden by court from doing so. How exactly passengers will be affected is still unclear.