History was made at the end of last week when FPU Romania and Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air signed a collective labour agreement for both pilots and cabin crew in Romania. The agreement is the first collective agreement in private aviation in Romania.
FPU Romania has signed a 2-year agreement with Malta Air in Romania with the option to extend the agreement with one more year. The collective labour agreement covers both pilots and cabin crew employed at the airlines Romanian base. The agreement is the first of its kind in Romania, as collective agreements for private employees in the aviation sector have never been concluded before.
Negotiations between FPU Romania and Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air have been going on for a long time, and the parties reached an agreement for both employee groups last week. The parties state that the negotiations have been conducted in a good and constructive environment and that they look forward to the continued cooperation.
The new collective agreement comes with multiple advantages for the employees. The pay will increase wages for all employees and clear rules have been agreed upon regarding holiday and holiday pay, sickness, maternity leave and pension. The agreement between FPU Romania and Malta Air also means that a larger share of the salary will be converted into fixed wage, so that the employees have greater financial security.
“The members are very pleased with the salary increase, which have been in demand for a long time. It is also a great improvement that pay slips will be easier to understand from now on, as we have come through with demands for clarification of the separate wage elements. Several wage elements have become fixed allowances, so there is every reason to celebrate,” says Mircea Constantin, Secretary General of FPU Romania.
Great support from members
The members of FPU Romania – both pilots and cabin crew – have had the opportunity to vote on the new collective labour agreement. Both groups have today adopted the agreement by an overwhelming majority.
“I really appreciate the support from the members, and I was really happy to see the results. It’s the first time we’ve tried something like this, so I would like to thank all those who voted and to express my special thanks to the union representatives and our great lawyers who played a major role in drawing up the agreement. They and the entire FPU Romania organization can be proud of their work,” says Mircea Constantin.
The agreement is now ready to be implemented. According to Mircea Constantin from FPU Romania, the agreement will benefit employees immediately:
“With this agreement, members get a higher degree of security. Especially according to Romanian conditions. The agreement also gives the company peace of mind to plan and live out its long-term ambitions in the country, which also benefits the members,” says Mircea Constantin.
According to the Danish model
FPU Romania has been organizing pilots and cabin crew since 2020, and one of the main objectives has been to cover the employees in private aviation with a collective agreement.
According to Mircea Constantin, the new agreement is a groundbreaking example of how employers and employees can find each other and reach good agreements with the help from a strong and independent union such as FPU Romania.
“We are still a young union, and we are so in a country where unions like ours aren’t necessarily welcome. We have fought for a long time just to get the opportunity to negotiate with Malta Air, and it’s a huge achievement that we can now effectively close the deal and therefore make a big and real difference for the members,” says Mircea Constantin.
It has been important for FPU Romania that the collective agreement contains regulations regarding meetings between the company’s management and the union’s representatives. These meetings can revolve around everything from professional disagreements, roster planning, employee satisfaction and social initiatives in the workplace.
According to Mircea Constantin, the more direct involvement of the employees was one of the many elements of the collective agreement inspired by the Danish model of society:
“We have learned from FPU and the Danish way of negotiation, and we have prioritized the importance of cooperation. You cannot take it for granted in Romania that management listens to or meets with union representatives, and I am therefore very pleased that Malta Air has agreed to our wish regarding this.”
