Italian unions held their first talks with Ryanair yesterday to thrash out labour agreements for the airline's cabin crew in the country.

Union Anpac also concluded its fourth meeting with Ryanair executives regarding a recognition and collective labour agreement for pilots in Italy. An Anpac spokesman told the Irish Independent that the union hopes to have signed off on a deal for pilots within two weeks.

The spokesman said that the agreement will see harmonised contracts for Ryanair pilots across its Italian bases.

He also said that Anpac would not be predisposed towards entering an arrangement where there would be pan-European negotiations with Ryanair spearheaded by an umbrella group...

However, he said Anpac would be willing to negotiate on wider European level in relation to a small number of issues, such as how pilots are transferred between bases in the event that a base closes, for instance.