Dublin (AFP)

The Dublin High Court blocked Wednesday a Ryanair pilots strike scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Ireland, giving reason to the airline that is facing social movements elsewhere in Europe.

Judge Denis McDonald said the social movement should be "blocked", cutting in favor of Ryanair who initiated this action in court.

The low-cost company argued during the hearing that a strike could not be conducted until a mediation process had come to an end, while considering that Forsa's vote in favor of the strike had been precipitated and without a very precise request.

The Irish trade union was planning this stoppage of pilots to protest against their wage conditions, which were considered insufficient.

Ryanair immediately congratulated in a statement of this decision which prevents according to the company "a minority of Irish pilots to strike". The low-cost carrier adds that all flights departing from Irish airports will proceed normally.

The company also asks the Irish pilots, "very well paid" according to her, to return to the negotiating table as part of the mediation process.

Ryanair, however, is not out of business since it is under threat of another series of strikes of pilots members of the union Balpa in the UK, from Thursday and Friday and early September, she also contested in justice. Claims include wages, pensions and maternity benefits.

- Job cuts -

A London court is currently reviewing this application and should make its decision quickly.

At the same time, Ryanair has been confronted since Wednesday and for five days with a cabin crew strike in Portugal which caused only slight delays after the setting up of a minimum service ordered by the Portuguese government.

"The first flights took place as planned this morning and we think they will not be significantly disrupted today in Portugal," the company said.

The strike convened by the National Union of Flight Personnel Civil Aviation (SNPVAC) requires that Ryanair complies with the Portuguese Labor Code, including the issues of premiums and holidays.

Finally, another ten-day strike in September is looming in Spain by cabin crew to protest against planned closures of airport bases.

Ryanair is facing these social movements after announcing at the end of July its intention to cut 900 jobs out of its 13,000 employees. The group plans to close bases this winter and in the summer of 2020 due to postponements of delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX, whose fleet is grounded after two accidents.

Its financial results are also shaky with a drop in net income in the first quarter of its 2019-2020 fiscal year due to lower airfare, more expensive kerosene and higher costs. staff.

These strikes and uncertainties about employment come at a time when the group seemed to have flattened the social relations within it, after having to face a wave of protest and strikes last year around working conditions. .

© 2019 AFP