The European Court of Justice today ruled that Ryanair workers based in Belgium could take legal proceedings before Belgian courts, regardless of the fact that Ryanair claimed that the contracts are “subject to Irish law” and “Irish courts had jurisdiction”.
Welcoming the judgement, the European Trade Union Confederation’s Esther Lynch said “It is not for employers to choose which countries’ laws they wish to obey. The law of the land where the person is working should apply.”
“This judgement is a significant step towards the same pay for the same work in the same place because it guarantees people access to the same courts ”
“The Court rightly recognised the imbalance of power in the employment relationship, and stated that the law should protect the weaker party – the worker.”
The workers’ contracts had a Belgian airport (Charleroi) designated as their ‘base’ and obliged them to live within an hour of that base, and the workers started and ended their working day at Charleroi.
For more on the judgement see https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2017-09/cp170097en.pdf
