Scores of Ryanair cabin crew based in Spain are set to stage strike action four days per week until January 2023 in a major escalation of an ongoing dispute over pay, benefits and working conditions.
Spanish cabin crew represented by the USO and SITCPLA unions have already staged a number of walkouts over the last couple of months but, so far, the Dublin-based airline has refused to meet their demands for better pay and improved conditions.
Union representatives said they had been forced to call further strikes because Ryanair has “not shown the slightest attempt” to negotiate with Spanish workers. the dispute has escalated after the airline dismissed 11 cabin crew involved in strike action.
Along with improved pay and conditions, the unions are now calling on the airline to reinstate the sacked workers and rescind disciplinary action that Ryanair bosses have taken against 100 cabin crew who took part in the walkouts.
Workers will now strike from Monday to Thursday, every week, starting on August 8 and not ending until January 7, 2023.
Scores of flights have been cancelled as a result of the previous walkouts, although Ryanair claims the industrial action has had little impact on its operations and that the unions represent only a small number of its total Spanish cabin crew workforce.
The SITCPLA union claims Ryanair have been bringing in crew from other countries in an attempt to break the strike – something that the union claims is illegal. In one case, a group of German cabin crew hid in an airport bus as a labour inspector investigated a complaint from the union.
In another incident, a group of Morrocan cabin crew allegedly reported themselves to the labour inspector after being flown in by Ryanair to take on flights normally operated by Spanish crew.
Close the Spain bases. Simple.