The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) has received the support of Congress in response to the organising campaign by pilots and other staff at Ryanair.

A motion, put forward at the TUC’s 150th annual congress, serves to highlight the achievements of Ryanair’s pilots in organising across Europe to stand against their employer and secure recognition with the airline that had previously rejected working with unions.

This follows BALPA’s long-running campaign against atypical working in the profession, which has seen a rise of insecure contracts for pilots steadily rising in recent years.

BALPA General Secretary, Brian Strutton, said in his speech to the TUC:

“Ryanair’s own actions during last year were the final straw for many of their pilots, who joined unions across Europe and forged social media groups, to build an underground movement that united and rose up against Ryanair. It was not BALPA or other unions, it was the pilots themselves, joining together internationally.

“Saying you will deal with unions is a great step forward but the reality behind that has to be proper, genuine negotiations in line with what the employees want.”

BALPA’s motion ended with a call from Congress urging Ryanair to negotiate good quality agreements with unions representing all sections of its workforce in all countries in which it operates. Unite, which represents cabin crew, supported the motion and it was passed by Congress.