IRISH-BASED RYANAIR pilots have said they will strike for a fourth day, next Friday 3 August.

The union Fórsa warned further strike action would follow later into August unless the company “changed tack” and “negotiated in good faith” on issues around base transfers and related matters.

This morning, Ryanair announced plans to cut 20% of its Irish-based fleet this winter, and cited the ongoing strikes.

In a statement, the union said that Ryanair’s comments this morning were “an attempt to put pressure on its employees”.

This action from Ryanair was a “provocative gesture” likely to “harden pilots’ resolve”, Fórsa said, adding that it had escalated the dispute and demonstrated an unwillingness from the company to engage with unions “in good faith”.

The union claimed that it had written to Ryanair last Friday 20 July to Ryanair to say it was available for negotiations but that there has still not been any response to this.

Ryanair said this morning that protective notice was issued to over 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew at the low-cost airline, a decision the company says is partly down to ongoing strike action by pilots.

Protective notice is a term that is regularly used in redundancy situations, although it has no legal basis.

Ryanair’s chief operating officer, Peter Bellew said the company regretted the move, but said the airline is operating in a market where future bookings have weakened because of “rolling strikes by Irish pilots”.