Ryanair’s sudden U-turn and willingness to talk to unions dazzled the industry. Amid all the media-hype that followed, one real success story of employee relations and transnational collective bargaining remained out of the spotlight. easyJet and its pilots – under the easyJet Pilot Group (ePG) – have been ambitiously redefining transnational bargaining. With already a series of meetings taking place and clear commitments from both sides, chances are this would be the first ever pilot group in Europe to successfully negotiate company-wide transnational matters. And this is actually a big news!
The first talks between easyJet’s employee relations team, management and pilots took place in October & November 2017. The discussions focused on establishing a transfer protocol for all easyJet pilots across the network, allowing them to move between the company’s 26 bases across the UK and Europe. Having a common transfer protocol – within a transnational airline – is a valuable tool to all pilots and management.
