German pilots have upped the ante in their bitter dispute with Ryanair, calling a “surprise” strike and forcing 150 flights to be cancelled at short notice. Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) announced the industrial action on Monday, advising Ryanair pilots in Germany to walk out on Wednesday. Separately, German cabin crew union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft called for a walk-out on the same day to "exact pressure" on Ryanair. It says that 1,000 cabin crew members will strike. The action was condemned by the Irish carrier with its chief marketing officer warning the strikes “will lead to base cuts and job cuts for both German pilots and cabin crew”. Ryanair grounded 150 of the 400 flights scheduled to and from Germany on Wednesday in response. Affected customers, which the airline said had been contacted by email and text on Tuesday, have been offered a full refund, a move to the next available flight or reroute options.<doc-sep>BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Pilots and cabin crew at Ryanair RYA.I in Germany staged a full-day walkout on Wednesday and threatened further strikes as management at Europe's largest low-cost carrier struggled to rein in an industrial relations revolt. The strike came a day before unions representing cabin crew in five countries - including No. 2 and 3 markets Italy and Spain - were due to announce whether to hold a joint strike later this month. Chief Executive Michael O’Leary was defiant, telling a press briefing in London that he was willing to accept strikes if that was the cost of defending the airline’s low-cost business model. “We will not roll over every time we’re threatened with strikes,” he said. “We do not want strikes but we are willing to accept strikes, put up with them, if it means defending our cost base.” He said strikes were having a minimal impact on overall operations and that full-year profit guidance was unchanged as it had already included some of the impact of the stoppages. Shares in Ryanair reversed earlier modest losses to trade 0.8 percent up by 1435 GMT. The Ireland-based airline said it canceled 150 out of a total 400 flights scheduled to fly to and from Germany on Wednesday due to the strike and warned that such “wildcat” strikes would lead to job cuts if they continued. The airline, which flies around 2,500 flights each day, said all passengers had been refunded or switched to other flights. “As long as Ryanair does not make improved offers, there may have to be further strikes here,” said Ingolf Schumacher, a negotiator for German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC). While both sides have agreed to employ a mediator, they have not agreed on who this should be. Ryanair has also come under fire for its practice of employing some pilots via third-party agencies, though it said all pilots will be directly employed by the end of the year. “SQUEEZING CREW” Ryanair said its latest offer to Germany’s VC addressed all of the union’s demands and called the walkouts unreasonable. In July it said it would move 20 percent of its Dublin-based fleet to Poland due in part to the damage strike action was doing to bookings but reversed the decision last Friday. Slideshow ( 5 images ) German services union Verdi, which represents cabin crew, is seeking a substantial pay increase as well as local contracts for its members. It said management had, however, offered local contracts only from 2022. At Germany’s biggest airport in Frankfurt, union members carried banners through a terminal, saying “Ryanair stop squeezing your crew.” O’Leary did concede that the strikes had damaged customer confidence. Slideshow ( 5 images ) “Our fares are undoubtedly a percentage point or two lower than they would otherwise be this summer,” he said. The airline decided to recognize unions last December after a 30-year period in an attempt to improve relations with its pilots and ease a staffing crunch. But failure to reach agreement with staff on conditions led to its worst ever strikes this summer. Ryanair secured a breakthrough in August when it reached a deal with Irish pilots. But last week, seven trade unions representing Ryanair cabin crew in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands threatened to hold a strike in late September unless the airline agrees to improve working conditions. O’Leary said that the airline was making progress with unions in Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands. Local contracts remained a sticking point, he said, explaining that Ryanair’s hands were tied by Irish legislation on that matter. He said Ryanair was hopeful that the Irish government would change the rules.<doc-sep>RYANAIR has cancelled 150 of 400 flights to and from Germany TODAY due to a pilot strike as the airline blames unions for a "lack of notice". The company slammed the "surprise" walk-out and apologised to customers for the "unnecessary strike and regrettable disruptions". 3 Ryanair staff are walking out today Credit: Reuters A spokesman for the airline said they had done "everything in its power" to avoid the strike. A further strike by Ryanair unions representing pilots, cabin crew and ground staff in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Holland is also now expected for September 28. Today's walkout has been called by the German unions Vereinigung Cockpit and Verdi Ver.di but was only announced on Monday. Ver.di says it is demanding a substantial increase in pay for cabin crew and is calling on 1,000 staff in Germany at all locations to support the strike on September 12. 3 A separate strikes saw Ryanair pilots protesting in Frankfurt, Germany, in August this year Credit: Getty Images - Getty The union says a second meeting with the airline had been "fruitless" and criticised the current pay structure as "completely out of the question". Ver.di alleges working conditions are "catastrophic" and "extremely poor". "With our demands, we are not even at the level of other low-cost providers," said ver.di negotiator Mira Neumaier, adding: "A first step would first be secured income." Pilots union VC has been calling for improvements in pay and working conditions but says there is still deadlock. 3 This strike follows a walkout by Ryanair pilots in August Credit: AFP or licensors The union wants Ryanair management to mediate in September, using a mediator who "knows German law". Ingolf Schumacher, Head of Industrial Relations, said: "Despite the strong signal of the strike action beginning of August, negotiations have come to a standstill. We are ultimately expecting solutions. " The twelve bases are located in Germany in Berlin Schönefeld and in Tegel, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt Hahn, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Weeze, Hamburg, Bremen, Nuremberg, Memmingen and Baden-Baden. The union ver.di expects that slightly more than 300 flights throughout Germany will be affected by the strike. "This is our first warning strike, we want the employer to move," said Christine Behle, member of the ver.di federal executive board. The strike will begin today at 3.01am and end on Thursday at 2.59am. About 400 pilots are expected to walk out. Ryanair said today: "The VC pilot union has called a surprise (just 24 hours’ notice) and unnecessary strike in Germany. While Ryanair hopes to complete much of its schedule, in the interest of minimising customer disruptions we have regrettably been forced to cancel 150 of 400 flights to and from Germany on Wednesday, September 12." 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"Ryanair has already agreed to independent mediation or arbitration in Germany, has agreed to negotiate local contracts and has agreed to increase basic pay for German pilots." They added: "We apologise sincerely to our customers for this unnecessary strike and regrettable disruptions which Ryanair has done everything in its power to avoid.” We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>
Ryanair has apologised to customers affected by the cancellation of 150 flights in and out of Germany due to a strike by pilots and cabin crew. The airline stressed that 252 of the remaining 254 scheduled flights to and from Germany operated as normal, thanks to staff who had "ignored union strikes". Ryanair noted that despite the strike, it would today operate over 2,200 flights carrying more than 380,000 passengers, with a load factor of 92%. The 24-hour strike by pilots and cabin crew based in Germany was announced on Monday night, and commenced early this morning. The airline said all affected customers had been refunded or re-accommodated. Ryanair recently reached agreement with pilots in Ireland following 5 days of strike action during hte peak summer period. However, cabin crew unions in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have threatened to stage a co-ordinated strike later this month if the airline does not change its business model. It is understood they will announce details of planned industrial action tomorrow. Meanwhile, in an unusual move, Ryanair has banned all media from its Annual General Meeting which is due to take place next Thursday. Germany's Cockpit pilots' federation and the Verdi service workers' union called the 24-hour strike, which started at 3am local time, after they said talks with Ryanair management were deadlocked. Ryanair has been clashing with worker representatives ever since it took the unprecedented step last year to start recognising trade unions in a bid to avert widespread Christmas strikes. Last month, Ryanair pilots in five European countries including Germany held their first-ever simultaneous walkout, causing some 400 flight cancellations and travel chaos for 55,000 passengers. Ryanair has however made some progress in clinching collective labour agreements since then. It managed to strike a deal with Italian pilots over working conditions in late August, its first-ever union agreement. Its Irish-based pilots voted to accept an agreement on improved working conditions last week. That prompted Ryanair to back down from an earlier threat to move several aircraft and 300 jobs from Ireland to Poland. Germany's Cockpit and Verdi unions, which represent some 400 Germany-based Ryanair pilots and 1,000 flight personnel, condemned the airline's attempt to squeeze them with a similar threat. "This is how Ryanair deals with its employees: putting pressure on them, scaring them and threatening job losses," said Cockpit's vice president Markus Wahl. Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said yesterday that further strikes would damage Ryanair's business in Germany and "lead to base cuts and job cuts". "We are not making a threat," he told a Frankfurt press conference. "If you have ongoing strikes, that's the economic impact." The airline boasts lower costs per passenger than its competitors and is eyeing profits of around €1.25bn this year. But staff have long complained that they earn less than counterparts at rival airlines. Another key gripe of workers based in countries other than Ireland is the fact that Ryanair employs them under Irish legislation. They say this creates huge insecurity for them, blocking their access to state benefits in their country. Unions also want the airline to give contractors the same work conditions as staff employees. Ryanair counters that it has already offered significant pay increases and steadier contracts. It said German pilots can make "up to €190,000 a year". But Cockpit's Markus Wahl said that only applies to "a handful" of people. The basic starting salary for Ryanair pilots is closer to €39,000 a year, he said, while the most experienced pilots can take home around €110,000 a year in fixed pay. That can then be topped up depending on flight hours. Mr Wahl said pilots were fighting for more pay overall, and specifically a higher fixed-rate salary. The Verdi union said Ryanair cabin crew earn a basic gross salary of €800 to €1,200 a month on average, far below what rival EasyJet pays. "The wages are so low that they are insufficient to ensure a decent living standard," Verdi board member Christine Behle said. Additional reporting: AFP