Ryanair has confirmed that it will not be meeting with the new interim representative body for Ryanair pilots, the European Employee Representative Committee (EERC).

In an update to pilots, the EERC, said it has signalled its desire to establish a representation system which enables bases to jointly engage with management on a regional basis.

In a statement this evening, Ryanair said it will not be corresponding or meeting with the EERC.

"This so-called "EERC" has no more status or validity than previous efforts by competitor airline pilot unions (such as the RPG) to insert themselves into Ryanair’s long established direct dealing with its pilots," read the statement. 

The EERC pilots are writing to the airline seeking assurances that there will be no victimisation for those who act as representatives and negotiators as part of new negotiating structures. 

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary wrote to pilots last week promising improvements to pay and conditions, including a commitment to benchmark pay against competitor airlines.

However, Mr O'Leary said the changes would only be secured by negotiation through the company's in-house Employee Representative Councils.

The EERC organisers said their fellow pilots at the airline's 87 bases cannot reveal their identities to their colleagues, as they are concerned that they could be "disadvantaged on a professional level" if their identities become known outside the context of the base EERCs.

They acknowledge that to change their current situation, they need leadership to negotiate legal national contracts via a fair system.

They say that as Michael O'Leary has claimed to respect them as pilots, they will be seeking specific assurances from the airline to show that respect in a "tangible and meaningful way".

They want a commitment that no legal action will be taken against any pilot in the performance of their representative work. 

There must be no scheduling of additional line checks or simulator checks, adding that any unexpected negative outcome from normal checks must be subject to independent adjudication by a third party acceptable to both parties. 

They warn that any disciplinary action, taken for any reason, must be also be handled by an independent third party acceptable to both parties.

They demand that a representative's base must not change unless at the request of the pilot involved.

They say rostered hours per month for representatives will not be less than the average monthly hours from the year prior to becoming a representative, or the average hours for their base (whichever is the higher).

They want rostered paid time off to engage in representative activities on behalf of Ryanair pilots.

They insist EERC representatives must not be assigned unpaid leave unless they request it.

Finally, all these conditions must continue to apply for at least one year following the cessation of being a representative.

The EERC says that pilots will no longer accept an "unbalanced and unfair" working relationship with management, and that Ryanair can no longer call them anonymous or claim that it is not the Ryanair pilots talking.

The update concludes by saying: "Remember an airline without its pilots is not an airline".

Meanwhile, Ryanair has issued an update on its management of the cancellation of over 20,000 flights due to mismanagement of annual leave for pilots. 

In relation to the first wave of over 2,000 cancellations, all 315,000 affected passengers have received email notices, and of those, over 311,000 (99%) have had re-routings or refunds processed.

The remaining 4,000 customers (1%) have yet to contact the airline. 

In relation to the second wave of 18,000 winter schedule flight cancellations, all 400,000 affected passengers have received email notices, and over 360,000 (90%) have had re-routings or refunds processed. 

Ryanair expects that to rise to over 380,000 (95%) this week. 

The airline says the remaining 20,000 affected passengers (5%) have yet to contact them. 

The airline also said that over the last week, its first wave punctuality remained at 97%.

Ryanair Chief Commercial Officer Kenny Jacobs said that Ryanair's "painful and deeply regretted" winter schedule reductions had restored punctuality to 97% last week, meaning customers could now book flights confident that there was no danger of further roster related flight cancellations.