The unions USO Air Sector and Sitcpla have called a six day strike for Ryanair cabin crew (TCP) to demand that the airline resumes negotiations that have been on hold for eight months to “close an agreement and decent working conditions for all staff”.
The strike days are called for June 24th, 25th, 26th and 30th and July 1st and 2nd for the ten bases that the airline has in Spain – Madrid, Malaga, Barcelona, Alicante, Seville, Palma, Valencia, Girona, Santiago de Compostela and Ibiza-.
The call would be aimed at between 1,200 and 1,400 workers of the airline, as explained by union representatives at a press conference on Monday.
The general secretary of the union section of USO in Ryanair, Lidia Arasanz, has pointed out that Ryanair crew members continue “to be third-rate workers”, since their rights “are still not respected”.
Ryanair forcing the strike
Arasanz explained that Ryanair “has forced this strike” which aims to return to negotiations and that the company complies “with the application of basic labor rights and court rulings”, as well as “to close an agreement and decent working conditions for all staff”.
As reported, the company left the negotiating table with both unions last May after the threat of strikes this summer by some ten European unions due to the “non-compliance in labor matters that the company continues to carry out”.
The company continues “not complying” with workers’ rights in all the countries where it has bases in Europe, and there is widespread discontent among the unions, which are in “constant” communication. Therefore, it is “possible” that more strikes will be called in this territory throughout the summer season, although due to the different legislation between countries it is not always possible to coordinate.
In addition, after this cessation in the negotiation, the company signed an agreement with the CCOO union. Sitcpla’s vice-president, Manuel Lodeiro, added that the CCOO agreement, “a union with no presence among Ryanair flight personnel”, but with a majority representation in the ground staff, includes “working conditions already achieved by Sitcpla and USO as a result of previous strikes and legal claims”.
Both unions interpret that the company is trying to “nullify them” due to the “refusal to sign the precarious conditions offered, for demanding decent working conditions for the Flight Attendants and denouncing their continuous non-compliance”. In addition, they emphasize that the CCOO agreement only applies to workers affiliated to that union.
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