- Rising inflation is causing unrest at work across Europe
- Some Ryanair cabin crew are calling for better conditions
- The budget airline says it does not expect a widespread summer break
- Other airlines are facing strikes amid struggles over staff shortages
LISBON / BRUSSELS, June 24 (Reuters) – Some Ryanair cabin crew went on strike in Belgium, Spain and Portugal on Friday over a wage and working conditions dispute, the latest in a wave of disruption. workers from different sectors of Europe. .
Rising inflation across the continent has caused millions of workers to struggle with rising cost of living, which has led unions to demand higher wage increases, often supported by strike calls. Read more
Airlines and airport operators have also struggled with staff shortages to manage passenger flow, as travel demand recovers with the end of most COVID-19 restrictions. Workers at several other airlines, including British Airways (ICAG.L), are also planning strikes this summer. Read more
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Ryanair cabin crew unions (RYA.I) in Belgium, Spain and Portugal called a three-day strike from Friday. Staff from France and Italy were expected to leave over the weekend. Crews in Spain will strike again on June 30 and July 1 and 2.
Workers say the Irish airline does not comply with local labor laws that cover issues such as the minimum wage and urge Ryanair bosses to improve working conditions. Read more
“The conditions are terrible,” said Ricardo Penarroias, president of SNPVAC, the union behind Portugal’s march. “A crew member can’t even carry a bottle of water on a flight.”
Ryanair told Reuters last week that it had negotiated labor agreements covering 90% of its workforce across Europe and that it did not expect a widespread disruption this summer.
SPIRAL ROOM- PRICE
Much of the labor unrest has focused on the transportation sector as it tries to return to travel after the pandemic blockades.
French unions made a joint call on Friday for a national strike of railway workers on July 6 and a march has also paralyzed the British railway network this week. Read more
There are indications that the unrest is spreading to other sectors: the French union CGT is organizing a one-day strike on Friday to seek higher wages for workers at oil refineries following the interruption of talks with the operator TotalEnergies. Read more
With inflation above 8% in the euro area, a 40-year high of 9.1% in the UK, and double-digit inflation in some Central and Eastern European economies, the authorities are concerned about the development of ‘a wage-price spiral in which wage demands add to inflationary pressures.
European Central Bank Director Christine Lagarde has warned that the longer inflation stays high, the more likely it is to influence wage negotiations.
A Ryanair plane is preparing to take off from Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport on the first of three days of cabin crew strike in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 24, 2022. REUTERS / Pedro Nunes
Read more
The pilots’ and cabin crew unions of Brussels Airlines, the Belgian subsidiary of Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), also went on strike on Thursday. During the three days, Brussels Airlines expects to cancel around 60% of its 533 flights. Read more
Ryanair said in a statement that less than 2% of its 3,000 flights on Friday had been affected so far by the strikes, mainly due to what it described as “minor disruptions” in Belgium.
“Ryanair expects more than 98% of its 3,000 daily flights to operate normally on Saturday and Sunday,” a figure that included interruptions in cabin crew strikes and French air traffic control operators, and shortages airport staff said.
Local media in Belgium said 127 flights at Charleroi airport would be canceled, affecting 21,000 passengers. Ten additional Ryanair flights a day were canceled at Brussels Airport.
WORKERS ‘RIGHT
In Lisbon, two flights have been canceled so far on Friday, both in Brussels. A total of 18 Ryanair flights between Brussels and Spanish cities were canceled on Friday and Saturday, said the Spanish cabin crew union, USO.
USO said that five flights from the French city of Marseille and one from Bordeaux to tourist destinations in Spain such as Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca have been canceled this weekend.
In Spain, the government forced the company to operate 73% -82% of flights during the strike period to maintain minimum services, forcing the majority to go to work.
Ernesto Iglesias, from USO, said the government’s decision limited workers’ right to strike.
A small group of Ryanair workers took advantage of their free time to join the demonstrations at Valencia and Barcelona airports. A protester held a sign that read: “The Spanish government is complicit in Ryanair.”
Commenting on the situation in Spain, Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said workers there are demanding a 165% pay rise.
The SNPVAC union said many flights from Portuguese airports would not be canceled because the airline put the strikers on hold and asked cabin crew from other countries to replace them. Ryanair has said that SNPVAC only accounted for 3% of its workforce in Portugal.
Outside Lisbon airport, 59-year-old American Michael Rossides said he booked an EasyJet flight because he thought Ryanair would cancel it, but that ended up not happening.
“We lost a fair amount of time, a couple of extra hours, and a few hundred dollars,” he said.
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Report by Catarina Demony, Patricia Rua and Miguel Pereira in Lisbon, Inti Landaro, Corina Rodriguez and Christina Thykjaer in Madrid and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Edited by Alex Richardson
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