“This is 2017, not a rerun of 1913; workers have the right to be represented by a union,” says Brid Smith TD

Questions remain over state regulator and its oversight in aviation industry says the Dublin South Central TD

People Before Profit TD, Brid Smith, today called for the full support of the trade union movement for the Ryanair pilots based in Ireland and across Europe who have voted for strike action for union recognition.

A large majority of pilots based in Ireland have voted to strike over a range of issues at the airline including the right to be represented by a union of their choice as opposed to a company appointed representative body. Hundreds more pilots based in Italy and Portugal are supporting the union recognition campaign.Read more »

Press Release- Bríd Smith TD, People Before Profit 05/12/2017

Failure to hear important evidence from pilots could have grave consequences- Bríd Smith TD

It is with dismay that Deputy Smith learned today from IALPA (Irish Airline Pilots Association) that tomorrow’s meeting of Transport Tourism and Sport Joint Oireachtas Committee on Working Hours for Pilots and Implications for Pilots Welfare has been cancelled for the third time.

Bríd Smith TD said, “This is a matter of grave public concern. The issue of airline and aviation safety needs to be examined and understood by the Oireachtas Committee. The cancellation without reason of this important meeting tomorrow morning could have grave consequences.

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RYANAIR – A DANGER TO THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC? A potentially toxic relationship exists between the Irish Aviation Authority and Ryanair. The IAA is the ONLY regulator in Europe that’s funded by the airlines it regulates – it made a profit of 40million last year and it gets a lot of money from Ryanair. This has serious implications for health and safety. Ryanair pushes it pilots to limits that would not be accepted, or legal, elsewhere in Europe. This stinks to high heaven.

Reps from Irish Aviation Authority and Commissioner for Aviation respond to questions put by Brid Smith TD, People Before Profit, at the Dáil Transport committee. Bríd queried the standards used by the IAA and CAR as applied to Ryanair, compared with the more stringent standards used by their UK counterparts.

Press Release- Bríd Smith TD, People Before Profit . 26/09/2017

Brid Smith TD challenges Varadkar over O’Leary’s Fine Gael fundraising and states lack of protection for worker’s rights

People Before Profit TD Brid Smith has said that the travel chaos inflicted on Ryanair passengers would have had Fine Gael TDs “jumping up and down if it were caused by a workers strike”. Instead both the Government and Fine Gael TDs were remarkably quiet despite the hardship caused by the anti-union practices of Ryanair and Michael O’Leary.Read more »