Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has announced it is to stop basing aircraft in Denmark following a Danish Labour Court (Arbejdsretten) ruling which allows the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark - LO) to take industrial action against the budget carrier.
"We will continue to operate 12 routes to/from Copenhagen Kastrup but on aircraft based outside of Denmark, as we are determined to grow Danish tourism and jobs, at a time when SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) is cutting jobs, cutting pay and cutting pensions," it said.
With Ryanair refusing to sign a Collective Bargaining Agreement denominated by Danish labour law with the Danish Flight Personnel Union (FPU), the LO in February initiated recognition proceedings with the Arbejdsretten to determine whether Ryanair personnel working at its Copenhagen base should be employed under Irish or Danish labour regulations.
As such, Wednesday's ruling that the carrier's Denmark-based workforce is subject to Danish labour laws alone opens the door for the 3F, Dansk Metal and HK unions to boycott Ryanair. Prior to legal proceedings, the unions warned that should Ryanair fail to sign a Danish collective agreement within five days of a favourable ruling, they would disrupt its operations by withholding from it facilities such as refuelling, luggage handling, catering, cleaning, and security.
Ryanair says it has now instructed its legal team to appeal the Arbejdsretten's decision.
“We have instructed our lawyers to immediately appeal this ruling, which appears to allow competitor airline unions to blockade Ryanair’s one based-aircraft at Copenhagen Kastrup, and we have also submitted a secondary claim to the Danish Labour Court," Ryanair's Head of Communications, Robin Kiely, said in a statement.
