Ryanair and Irish pilots reach agreement in labour dispute

Low-cost airline Ryanair has reached an agreement with its Irish pilots in a labour dispute, both sides have announced.
"Following a 22-hour negotiating session, which began on Wednesday morning and concluded on Thursday morning, agreement has been reached between Forsa and Ryanair in the pilots' dispute," the pilots' trade union Forsa said on Thursday.
Ryanair confirmed the agreement to dpa, without giving details.
The pilots now have to vote to approve the deal, with the union recommending that they accept it.
"The mediator ... has asked both sides to refrain from further comment until the ballot has concluded and we will respect his wishes," Ryanair said.
In the dispute over holiday time, transfers and promotions, 100 of Ryanair's 350 Irish-based pilots took part in five days of strike action.
The Irish airline is in dispute with trade unions in several EU countries, which came to a head in mid-August with the biggest pilots' strike in Ryanair's history that affected 55,000 passengers across Europe.
German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) told dpa that it wants to wait and analyse the outcome of the agreement between Ryanair and its Irish pilots before continuing to negotiate with Ryanair.
"It poses the question whether mediation could come into consideration in Germany too," said VC Vice President Markus Wahl.
A further round of negotiations between the discount carrier and VC hasn't been started since the mid-August strike.
VC is asking for better pay, among other things, but Ryanair is wary of making agreements that would put its low-cost business model at risk.
German labour union Verdi is also negotiating with Ryanair regarding better pay. Additionally it is fighting for measures against temporary work and short-term staff relocations.