Dutch refuse Ryanair's right to fire pilots and cabin crew

Dutch authorities have denied Ryanair the right to lay off pilots and crew members who refused to move away from the Netherlands following the contested closure of the company’s base in the country. Ryanair said last month that it would fire 16 Dutch pilots and 15 cabin crew members who refused to relocate after the company’s decision to shut its base in Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands. Under Dutch law, companies planning to make staff redundant must secure approval from the government’s social security department, UWV, to ensure they abide by labor regulations and have good grounds for their plan. A spokesman for the FNV labor union, Leen van der List, said UWV had rejected the airline’s plan to make the Dutch workers redundant as the company had failed to negotiate a severance plan. A spokeswoman for UWV confirmed that the department had rejected Ryanair’s plan but would not give details. “Ryanair will have to talk to us,” Van der List said. “They will have to convince us of the absolute necessity to close the base.”<br/>