Disruptive industrial action by thousands of staff at Ryanair has moved  closer after it emerged that another unionless airline, Thomas Cook Airlines, has signed an agreement with Unite, the Irish Examiner reported on the 5th of May.

In a report by Stephen Jones, the newspaper stated that the super union, which came into existence on May 1 as an amalgam of Amicus and TGWU, will negotiate by collective bargaining over pay, holidays and hours of work on behalf of more than 1,000 cabin crew working for the airline. The ITF has welcomed the move by Thomas Cook and said Ryanair must follow suit.

The journalsit went on to report that The ITF is mobilising Ryanair workers across Europe to take action against their employer and said the Thomas Cook agreement will spur them on.

He quoted ITF Civil Aviation Secretary Ingo Marowsky: "We want to make sure all major hubs are strong enough to hit."

The full report can be read in the Irish Examiner >>