UK court rejects Ryanair appeal over its ‘blacklisting’ of striking pilots

UK judges have dismissed an appeal by Ryanair of a 2021 employment tribunal ruling, after the carrier revoked concessionary travel benefits from pilots who participated in a 2019 strike. The UK cockpit union BALPA initiated a strike over pay and conditions across several days in August and September 2019. Ryanair lost a challenge to the strike ballot. But it circulated a notice to all its UK-based pilots on 16 September 2019 warning that staff travel was a discretionary benefit – and that any pilot participating in further strikes that month would have this privilege removed for a year. The carrier carried out this threat after strikes on 18-19 September, and affected pilots took the matter to an employment tribunal in January 2020, alleging that the withdrawal of travel benefits constituted a “detriment” contrary to labour relations legislation. The tribunal held that, by taking strike action, the pilots were taking part in trade union activities, and so-called ‘blacklisting’ regulations prohibit, to an extent, companies from compiling lists of people who take part in trade union activity for the purposes of discrimination. While Ryanair’s appeal to the tribunal was dismissed, the carrier was given leave to appeal to the High Court.<br/>