Unions representing Ryanair cabin crew in Italy said on Wednesday that they had called a 24-hour strike at the end of June in a dispute with the airline over pay and conditions. The strike has been called to coincide with walkouts arranged by unions representing Ryanair cabin crew in both Spain and Portugal.
The FILT-CGIL and UIL Trasporti unions said they had called for their members to strike on June 25 after a four-hour stoppage earlier this month had little effect on negotiations with the airline.
Portuguese unions are planning a three-day stoppage on June 24, 25 and 26, while Spanish unions have called for six days of strike action on June 24, 25 and 26, and then on June 30, July 1 and 2.
“Ryanair has forced this strike and we have to return to mobilization so that the reality of our situation is known, so that Ryanair is forced to comply with the application of basic labor rights and court rulings,” said Lidia Arasanz, general secretary of the Spanish USO union on Monday.
“Ryanair crew members continue to be third-party workers, our rights remain unrespected.”
Amongst a whole slew of issues that the two sides are in dispute about is the fact that Ryanair does not provision bottles of water onboard its aircraft for cabin crew. Instead, cabin crew must pay for water from the onboard shop or bring their own bottle from home.
The unions claim Ryanair’s stance on the issue is a breach of European laws.
Another big sticking point is the use of hiring cabin crew as third-party agency staff, as well as pay and other working conditions.
Ryanair says the union’s demands are unrealistic and have pulled out of further talks. The Dublin-based airline believes it can continue to operate much of its schedule without major disruption during any strike.
Cabin crew at the airline are represented by a multitude of unions and the airline has crew bases spread far and wide across Europe. The airline says it is continuing to negotiate with various other unions and that collective bargaining agreements already cover around 90 per cent of its cabin crew workforce.
