They agreed on the subject Thursday during a meeting in Brussels, they indicate in an official statement that they sent to the company. “Sporadic or coordinated actions could therefore take place all over Europe from June,” warns Didier Lebbe, CNE permanent secretary.
In 2018, unions from several European countries had already united for a European strike at Ryanair, which took place during the summer. They then demanded that the company apply national labor laws in all countries where it operates. They had ended up winning their battle. Thus, in Belgium, this legislation has been applied since the beginning of 2019. “A fairly historic agreement”, was welcomed by the unions.
But, four years later, “little things have improved, and many problems raised in 2018 have still not been resolved”, lament the European unions, from Belgium (the CNE and its Flemish counterpart ACV-Puls) , France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. They complain that there is still no “fair and transparent social dialogue” within the airline.
Some of the union grievances were already highlighted during the three-day strike by Ryanair cabin crew in Belgium a month ago. There is no local HR department, payslips are unclear or contain errors, flight attendants and hostesses do not have access to fresh water on board planes (unless they pay), etc
To this, deplore the unions of the five countries, are added in particular conditions of promotion or transfer which are not clear, so that they can be used as a means of pressure. Ryanair also refuses to comply with court orders and there is no freedom of association within the company in some countries. For example, in Italy, workers cannot organize in a union of their choice, but only in one of the organizations recognized by the company.
“If there is no significant response from the company, we will not hesitate to launch a European action during the summer”, warn the unions, without yet giving a concrete timetable for possible actions.
But, “from the month of June, there is a risk of sporadic or coordinated strike actions almost everywhere in Europe”, warns Didier Lebbe, of the CNE, who is pleased that the movement launched in April in Belgium make an oil stain.