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The Ryanair cabin crew unions on Thursday congratulated themselves on the success of their unprecedented strike in four European countries and continued the movement despite threats of job cuts.
The cabin crew employed by Ryanair the low-cost company in Belgium, Spain and Portugal is conducting a two-day strike on Wednesday and Thursday. In Italy, the walkout was limited to Wednesday but had a greater impact than expected.
Employees demand that they apply the national labor law, and not that of Ireland, which would improve under several aspects their working conditions.
"We can not allow (Ryanair) to continue to base their profits on low wages," denounced Pepe Alvarez, secretary general of the UGT, one of the main Spanish unions, in a press conference.
"There is a very strong adherence to this strike," said Luciana Pbado, President of the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC). "In Lisbon alone, the membership rate on Wednesday has been close to 80%, and for today we expect a similar or even greater mobilization based on the data we have," he said. she told AFP
In Italy, the union Uiltrasporti boasted of an "extraordinary result" of the movement, asking Ryanair "to dialogue to avoid further strikes". "The very strong participation of the Italian-based flight crew has demonstrated the real weight of our union among the workers," Uiltrasporti said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.
The company had tried to limit the impact of the strike by canceling pre-emptively 600 flights and transferring pbadengers on canceled flights to other flights or offering them a refund. But it had not announced the measures taken for Italy.
– Strong followed in Italy –
In Spain, where the authorities had demanded that Ryanair provide a minimum service, the activity of the company was little affected Wednesday and the day was held without significant incident, announced the Ministry of Transport. But a dozen links with Italy have been canceled, because of the strong follow-up of the strike in that country, the ministry added.
"In many cases, workers did not offer services on board to protest, since this was not part of the minimum service, "said Enrique Iglesias, Spanish trade union ESO.
In Belgium, where Ryanair employs some 700 people, 11 flights out of 20 planned Thursday departure Brussels and 11 out of 20 on arrival were canceled, said Brussels Airport spokeswoman Nathalie Pierard. At the Charleroi airport, the main Belgian platform of the carrier, 60% of the flights were canceled, said Yves Lambot, permanent secretary of the National Central of the employees.
The unions defied the warnings of Ryanair which had announced Monday , with declining quarterly results, that the continuation of the strikes would force it to suppress flights and jobs.
The next day, the company put its threats into effect by suppressing flights from Dublin for the winter 2018, after a strike by pilots based in Ireland, warning that up to 300 jobs, 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, were at stake.
Strikes are increasing among Ryanair staff as they had been almost non-existent since the company's inception in the mid-1980s.
Ryanair has long refused to recognize unions, but turned 180 degrees at the end of the year last in beginning negotiations with unions in several countries.
The low-cost company has managed to sign agreements with some unions, but discussions are still difficult in some places.
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