ONE OF BELGIUM’S largest trade unions is to sue low-fares airline Ryanair over claims that some of its company HR practices are in breach of Belgian law.

AFP reports that the CNE union will initiate action against both Ryanair and another Irish company, Crewlink, which provides a large number of its cabin crew.

The union alleges that work practices which see employees’ pay docked by €30 per month for the first year of their employment, in order to cover the cost of their cabin crew uniforms, is illegal.

It also complains that cabin crew are transferred between routes with little notice, and that there are no company provisions for sick pay.

RTÉ News said Ryanair dismissed the claims, saying its employees only needed to comply with Irish labour laws, and that each employee’s contract rooted their working conditions to Ireland.

“Ryanair’s aircraft are registered in the Republic of Ireland and as you will perform your duties on these aircraft your employment is based in the Republic of Ireland,” employee contracts state.

Ryanair also told RTÉ that employees received an annual uniform allowance of €325 a year, and that the cost of their uniforms was taken from this, regardless of whether they bought a new uniform each year.

CNE claims that hundreds of the airline’s staff should also be able to claim employment rights under Belgian law, as many are required to live in Charleroi because of their working schedules.

Ryanair closed its base in Marseille, France in January this year over a similar dispute about whether it could hire local staff under Irish labour laws.