Ryanair in preliminary deal with Belgian unions to try to avoid strike

Ryanair signed an agreement Thursday with Belgian cabin crew and pilots to apply local law to their contracts from next year, part of a series of deals aimed at averting further strikes at the airline. The unions will meet with the Irish company four more times before the end of the year to negotiate agreements on working conditions, including salaries, and may strike again if progress is not made, CNE union representative Yves Lambot said. “If the negotiations do not advance, obviously we will have to strike again,” Lambot said. “But we first have to see what the negotiations bring.” Ryanair has reached similar agreements over the last week with Spanish, Portuguese and UK unions. “These signed union agreements in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the UK again demonstrate the considerable progress we’re making in concluding union agreements with our people in our major EU markets,” said Ryanair’s Chief People Officer, Eddie Wilson. Agreements with cabin crew unions in Spain and Portugal will be quickly concluded, Wilson forecast.<br/>