Can labor arrest the “sky pirates”? Transnational trade unionism in the European civil aviation industry

Abstract

In a single European aviation market that is open to innovative new business strategies, most notably the (ultra) low-cost model developed by Ryanair, nonterritorial forms of sovereignty have been used to redefine employment relations, exert control over labor, and extract surplus value. Although aviation unions recognize the need to shift scale from a predominantly local focus on their national (flag) airline, they have yet to develop effective strategies at the supranational level as low-fare airlines continually extend their geographical reach in the open skies over Europe and beyond. Union strategies are considered at different levels (national and EU) as well as the different processes to enact these strategies (technocratic and democratic). Unions need to develop a Euro-democratization strategy if they are to arrest the anti-unionism and social dumping of European “sky pirates” such as Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Keywords::

• low-fare airlines
• transnational trade unionism

Acknowledgment

This paper draws heavily on two projects undertaken by the authors for the ETF, with financial support from the European Commission.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. Public Hearing on “Pirates of the Sky: The Corners Cut by Low Cost Airlines,” European Parliament, Brussels, 10 April 2014.

^2.Lillie, “Bringing the Offshore Ashore.”

^3. Ibid., 688.

^4.Lindsay, “Organizational Liminality and Interstitial Creativity.”

^5.Crane, “Modern Slavery as a Management Practice.”

^6.Turnbull, “Creating Markets, Contesting Markets.”

^7.Erne, European Unions.

^8.Streeck, “Internationalization of Industrial Relations in Europe.”

^9. Ibid., 429.

^10.Lillie, “Bringing the Offshore Ashore,” 687.

^11.Erne, European Unions, 24–25.

^12. Ibid., 23–25.

^13.Hyman, “Trade Unions and the Politics,” 35.

^14.Erne, European Unions, 192.

^15.Amoore, “Work, Production and Social Relations,” 32–33.

^16.Herod, Rainnie, and McGrath-Champ, “Working Space,” 253.

^17.Herod, “From a Geography of Labor,” 3 (original emphasis).

^18.Harvey and Turnbull, Development of the Low Cost Model; and Harvey and Turnbull, Evolution of the Labour Market. Both projects involved case studies of Europe's leading LFAs, and the latter also involved case studies of four major legacy airlines. The former project also involved a survey of 19 civil aviation unions affiliated to the ETF and the latter a survey of almost 3000 civil aviation staff (flight crew, cabin crew, and ground services).

^19.Turnbull and Harvey, Impact of 11 September; and Harvey and Turnbull, Impact of the Financial Crisis.

^20. For example, Blyton and Turnbull, “Confusing Convergence”; and Turnbull, Blyton, and Harvey, “Cleared for Take-Off?”

^21. See note 7 above.

^22.Hyman, “Shifting Dynamics in International Trade Unionism,” 145.

^23.Rainnie, Herod, and McGrath-Champ, “Spatialising Industrial Relations,” 17.

^24.Herod, “From a Geography of Labor,” 17.

^25. Submission by SAS to US regulators on NAI's application for a US Foreign Air Carrier permit, reported in Airline Business, April 2014.

^26.Lazonick, Business Organization and the Myth, 148.

^27. Ibid., 199.

^28.Airline Business, November 2013.

^29. Michael O'Leary, quoted in The Telegraph, 7 November 2012.

^30.Harvey and Turnbull, Development of the Low Cost Model, 15.

^31.http://www.centreforaviation.com

^32.Barrett, “Sustainability of the Ryanair Model,” 93.

^33. To quote again from Clause 6 (Location) of the CrewLink contract: “As the Client's aircraft are registered in the Republic of Ireland and as you will perform your duties on these aircraft your employment is based in the Republic of Ireland.”

^34. In the case of flight crew, these committees exclude all contract (agency) and self-employed pilots.

^35.Wills, “Subcontracted Employment and its Challenge,” 444.

^36. The world's three major alliances – Star, SkyTeam, and oneworld – account for two-thirds of global airline capacity.

^37. Lufthansa transferred over 50 aircraft to Germanwings under a 2-year transition scheme (2013–2015) that is expected to save the company €900 million. Other examples of this strategy include Air France–KLM/Transavia and Iberia/Iberia Express.

^38.Harvey and Turnbull, Evolution of the Labour Market.

^39. Ryanair, for example, has recently announced that it will target all major European airports except London–Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt, as it cannot guarantee a 25-minute aircraft turnaround time at these airports.

^40. Transport Trades Department, AFL-CIO, 29 October 2013. NAI have announced that they intend to halve the ticket price for flights between Europe and the USA, Airline Business, July 2013.

^41.Lillie, “Bringing the Offshore Ashore,” 688.

^42.Crane, “Modern Slavery as a Management Practice”; and Lindsay, “Organizational Liminality and Interstitial Creativity.”

^43.Herod, “Organizing Globally, Organizing Locally,” 97.

^44.Erne, European Unions, 21.

^45. Ibid., 20.

^46. When BALPA initially applied to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to request a vote, the association claimed 126 members out of a total of 184 on the employer's count, but, when the CAC had to decide whether to hold a secret ballot, the union could claim only 116 members, whereas Ryanair produced a list of 250 pilots at the base. Unions are far less likely to win recognition when the employer's definition of the bargaining unit prevails, and this proved to be the case – in the eventual vote, only 46 pilots voted in favor of recognition, with 94 against.

^47.O'Sullivan and Gunnigle, “‘Bearing all the Hallmarks of Oppression’”

^48. In 2009, the Revenue Commissioners ruled that self-employment status would not be regarded as a “contract for services,” thereby prompting the change in contractual status. Under the new arrangements, pilots pay taxes in the country where they register their business (not where they work), but most retain Irish registration because of much lower labor taxes in Ireland compared to other EU member states. There are estimated to be over 600 companies registered in Ireland supplying pilot services to Ryanair.

^49.Décret n° 2006–1425 du 21 Novembre 2006 relatif aux bases d'exploitation des entreprises de transport aérien et modifiant le code de l'aviation civile [Decree No. 2006–1425 of 21 November 2006 concerning the operating bases of airlines and amending the code of civil aviation].

^50. In October 2013, Ryanair was fined €8 million in fines and damages for not respecting the French decree law of 2006 (for the period of 2006–2010).

^51. Commercial pilots, for example, typically qualify with around €80,000–€100,000 debt. Their initial training with Ryanair for B737-800 aircraft will add an additional €28,500 and is expected to be paid in advance.

^52. Michael O'Leary, Aktuelt, 13 April 2013.

^53.http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/04/11/authorities-unaware-of-ryanairs-base/

^54.O'Sullivan and Gunnigle, “‘Bearing All the Hallmarks of Oppression’”; also widely covered in the press.

^55. Mr Justice Thomas Smyth quoting Isabella in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. O'Sullivan and Gunnigle, “‘Bearing all the Hallmarks of Oppression’”; also widely covered in the press.

^56. Freedom of Association Committee (Case No. 2780) and Governing Body (GB.313/INS/9).

^57.Tarrow, New Transnational Activism, 121.

^58.Erne, European Unions, 24.

^59. The Comité syndical des transports dans la Communauté européenne was established in 1958 and became the ETF in 1999.

^60. Guidelines on the relationship between the Committee of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Community and the International Transport Workers' Federation, ITF Circular No. 65/A.12, March 1994.

^61.Erne, “Politics of European Unions,” 212.

^62. Comitology refers to the use of technical committees and/or expert policy networks in the EU decision-making process.

^63.Hyman, “Trade Unions and the Politics,” 27.

^64. The ECA is the European federation for professional pilot associations in Europe.

^65. The regulation applies to all new workers and those who request a change of jurisdiction. Existing staff can retain their current tax status for a period of up to 10 years.

^66.http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/ryan-be-fair.cfm

^67. Captain Goss, who was a former Ryanair Flight Safety Officer, was dismissed in August 2013 after he was the only pilot to appear on a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary (Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit) that raised concerns about the airline's safety policies (other pilots were voiced by actors in the program). In a recent survey of more than 1100 RPG members (March 2014), more than one in 10 respondents indicated that they were prepared to stand for election to the RPG Council.

^68.Erne, European Unions, 5.

^69.http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/events/2008_12_03_int_us_prog_en.htm

^70. During the interim arrangements, NAS applied for an amendment to Norwegian immigration legislation (the requirement for employees from outside the EU/EEA to hold a residence permit), which was refused.

^71. Letter dated 15 January 2014.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Geraint Harvey

Geraint Harvey is a Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. His research focuses on employment relations in frontline service sector work, primarily civil aviation.

Peter Turnbull

Peter Turnbull is Professor of Human Resource Management and Labour Relations at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. His research focuses on industrial relations in the international transport industry, specifically civil aviation, ports, and shipping. The authors have published several reports on the civil aviation sector for the ITF, ETF, and ILO.