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Ryanair pilots: Unlikely pioneers of transnational collective action

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  • Darragh Golden
  • Roland Erne

Abstract

In aviation, EU single market rules empowered Ryanair over three decades to defeat all pilot unions across Europe, regardless of the notionally strong power resources on which they were relying in their countries. Nonetheless, in December 2017, a transnational group of union-related pilots, the European Employee Representative Committee was critical in forcing Ryanair to finally recognize trade unions. This study shows that multinationals’ ability to circumvent national union power resources does not necessarily undermine transnational collective action. Hence, transnational union strength does not primarily depend on an aggregation of national power resources, but on union activists’ ability to exploit union-friendly peculiarities that the EU governance regime is also providing. We show that the apparently weaker institutional power resources at EU level provides more effective leverage for transnational collective action than apparently stronger power resources embedded within French, Danish, or Norwegian labour law. This requires an understanding of scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Darragh Golden & Roland Erne, 2022. "Ryanair pilots: Unlikely pioneers of transnational collective action," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(4), pages 451-469, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:28:y:2022:i:4:p:451-469
    DOI: 10.1177/09596801221094740
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Marginson & Keith Sisson, 2006. "European Integration and Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50410-3, November.
    2. Stan De Spiegelaere, 2020. "Transnational union action at Ryanair," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(2), pages 229-233, May.
    3. Eli Moen, 2017. "Weakening trade union power," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(4), pages 425-439, November.
    4. Élodie Béthoux & Roland Erne & Darragh Golden, 2018. "A Primordial Attachment to the Nation? French and Irish Workers and Trade Unions in Past EU Referendum Debates," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 656-678, September.
    5. John Kelly, 2015. "Trade union membership and power in comparative perspective," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(4), pages 526-544, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Raoul Gebert, 2024. "Transnational trade union strategies in the context of market integration: The case of company union clubs in the Nordic finance sector," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 30(3), pages 287-308, September.
    2. Korte, Johanna P. & Yorke-Smith, Neil, 2025. "An aircraft and schedule integrated approach to crew scheduling for a point-to-point airline," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Roland Erne & Marco Hauptmeier & Valeria Pulignano & Peter Turnbull, 2024. "Introduction to a Special Issue: Social Europe: The Changing Contours of Transnational Employment Relations in the European Union," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(5), pages 643-658, October.
    4. Vincenzo Maccarrone, 2024. "The Europeanization of Wage Policy and Its Consequences for Labor Politics: The Case of Ireland," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(5), pages 716-741, October.

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