Ryanair should recognise its trade union and negotiate a procedural agreement to regulate the relations between the two sides, the Labour Court said yesterday.
It said that was the recommendation of the court in 1988 and it was still of that view. This was the first practical step towards resolving the claims of the staff and to bring the current dispute of baggage-handlers to a conclusion.
Mr Paul O'Sullivan, of SIPTU, described the court's view as constructive. It had left the way open for both parties to use their good offices to help resolve the issues at the centre of the dispute. He believed it was now time for Ryanair to respond.
A spokeswoman for Ryanair said Mr Michael O'Leary, chief executive, was at a conference in New York and had not seen the Labour Court statement. He would not be commenting until he had had an opportunity to read it.
Mr Turlough O'Sullivan, director of the employers' body, IBEC, said it was a pity Ryanair had not taken up the invitation to attend the Labour Court. "I think they had a good case to make. By not going along they left the court with no alternative but to accept the union's version of affairs.
" Normally we would recommend to employers that they go along to the court and make their views known." The court could have facilitated them by meeting them on a bilateral basis.
The Labour Court statement, signed by the chairwoman, Ms Evelyn Owen, said it would not be helpful to either party to make a recommendation on the substantive claim of the union at this time. "Conscious of the court's role as the `court of last resort' in industrial relations matters, the court will continue to keep the matter under review and is prepared to facilitate the parties in any way it can to assist in resolving the dispute."
It said SIPTU had submitted that its members in Ryanair were paid considerably less than baggage-handlers in Aer Lingus, British Midland and Servisair. It also argued that as Ryanair was now a profitable, successful company it could no longer claim special treatment or expect the employees to remain low-paid compared to the industry standard. It was regrettable Ryanair did not attend and counter the claims, said the court.
Ryanair, in a statement, repeated that the dispute was not affecting its services. It stressed it had record passenger numbers and bookings for January.
However, 160 technician staff members of Forbairt and NSAI, the national standards and certification body, announced yesterday that they had voted to boycott Ryanair in support of its workers. The technicians have called on all staff not to use Ryanair in either a private or business capacity until the company's management agrees to negotiate with union representatives.
A meeting of MSF (Manufacturing, Science, Finance) union members was told that it was a fundamental right of all workers to be able to organise at work.