6th Nov 2013 10:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC Wednesday said a Belgian labour court had dismissed a case brought against it by a former crew member accusing it of breaching labour laws, one of a series of cases it has been fighting against crew members who claimed they'd been employed on unfair Irish contracts.
Last month, Europe's largest low-cost carrier said it would appeal after a court in the French town of Aix En Provence Court levied EUR8 million in fines, ruling it had been wrong in not paying French employment benefits to and for workers who had been hired abroad but spent most of their time at the airline's Marseille hub.
Ryanair hires most of its staff on Irish contracts, paying Irish taxes, even if they are mostly based abroad, claiming it has the right to do so because it is an Irish carrier, and its aircraft are registered in the country. The contracts meet European Union rules on mobile transport workers, it says.
The carrier Wednesday said the Charleroi Labour Court had dismissed a case brought against it by a former crew member in Belgian, upholding a 2007 court ruling that backed Ryanair's position that any dispute regarding contracts of employment should be dealt with through the Irish Courts.
"Ryanair welcomes this ruling which upholds the EU regulations governing mobile transport workers and which mirrors similar rulings in Germany, Italy and Spain," the company said in a statement.
"Since Ryanair crew members spend their working day on Irish aircraft (which is Irish territory), are employed on Irish contracts and pay their taxes and social taxes in Ireland, there is no basis for any claim that they should be subject to Belgian employment law," it added.
The French court in October ordered Ryanair to pay a EUR200,000 fine plus EUR4.5 million in backdated social payments, EUR3 million in pension contributions and EUR450,000 in unemployment charges for a period between 2007 and 2010.
"Since all of our people operating to/from Marseille between 2007 and 2010 have already paid their social taxes and pension contributions in Ireland, in full compliance with Irish and EU employment regulations, we do not believe that either Ryanair or our people can be forced to double pay these contributions a second time in France," Ryanair head of communications Robin Kiely said in a statement at that time.
Ryanair shares were up 2.3% at EUR5.71 in London Wednesday morning.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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