Strike at Ryanair: the anger of low-cost airlines

The unions? Michael O 'Leary scorned them only recently. "I do not care about unions," said the head of the low-cost airline Ryanair in the summer of 2016. In his company, there is none. And last year, the eloquent Irish described the European pilot associations as "pipe breakers" who would only "make noise" on Ryanair and would be involved in the disappearance of other companies airline.

But this summer, O 'Leary has to deal with these' breakers'. On Thursday, just under 100 drivers in the home country of Ryanair Ireland launched a 24-hour strike – for the first time in the airline's 33-year history. Ryanair, 30 of the 290 flights will be canceled in Ireland; The connections with Germany are probably not affected at the beginning

That is only the beginning of a wave: for the following week, cabin crew in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium also announced a strike, the German Cockpit pilot organization is currently organizing a vote on a Ryanair strike.

All these actions have affected the biggest Low cost airlines in Europe in the middle of the high season

The rising of the flying staff shakes one of the pillars of Ryanair's business model For decades, O & # 39; Leary has kept unions and staff at the # Gap, hundreds of pilots did not not been hired by Ryanair but employed by an entrepreneurial model. Captains had to start some kind of self-employment and enter into contracts with recruiting firms before being allowed to climb into Ryanair's cockpit. That alone saved millions of dollars at the cheap Irish airline.

"Basic salary of less than 1500 euros"

Even Naughty is the co-owner O 'Leary – who, according to Forbes business magazine is now a billionaire dollar – has always been to stewards and hostesses in the air. "Even the highest-paying cabin bosses in Germany receive a base salary of less than € 1,500," says Uwe Hien, Ufo cabin syndication expert. Ryanair did not respond to this request, but sent a statement stating that crew members could earn up to 40,000 euros a year. However, it is possible that they sell passengers on board a lot of food, drinks and scratch cards.

The power relations with Ryanair have been shaken for some time. In the summer of 2016, prosecutor Koblenz's prosecutions were launched at several Ryanair bases in Germany. There were investigations of recruitment agencies suspected of tax evasion and false self-employment

. Last autumn, Ryanair had to cut tens of thousands of flights. Officially, it was said that the planning of the flight deck staff vacations went wrong. In fact, it was probably because many people in the line ran away and moved on to competitors with better working conditions. Above all, pilots are in great demand in these times of the aviation boom.

Last December, there was even a warning strike: in Germany proclaimed by the cockpit pilot association. It lasted a short time and was barely noticeable, but it was the first to stand out in the history of the low-cost airline. And when strikes in southern Europe were imminent, O 'Leary turned around. He issued a public apology and recognized for the first time on December 15, 2017 the unions as the representative of his employees.

Pilots demand the end of precarious employment

The pilot unions now feel stronger than ever. Because they are united like never before. More than a dozen national pilot associations have joined forces to form the Ryanair Transnational Pilot Group. This should be a counterbalance to senior management, coordinating the negotiations and "preventing one country from continuing to play against the other," says Dirk Polloczek, President of the European Federation of European Pilots Associations (ECA) [19659017]. Salary and transfer system, uniform working conditions for different Ryanair sites in different countries – as well as the end of precarious employment. The company replied that captains in Ireland could earn up to 200,000 euros a year. In Germany, according to internal sources, more and more pilots have recently become more and more eager to be prosecuted for bogus self-employment. Elsewhere in Europe, the IAC model continues to operate

Booth unions require not only higher wages, but also comparable conditions for permanent and semi-permanent employees. "The German law stipulates:" There must be no different treatment for working hours, annual vacations or wages in case of sickness, "explains the representative of Ufo Hien. should no longer exert pressure on the staff to sell something to the passengers on board.Only two years ago, O. Leary said, "If you are a bad seller, you are gone."

" We agreed that we were no longer in shape "

Crews are not easy on Ryanair. When last Sunday, a flight from Madrid to Cologne was massively delayed, the cabin crew felt after eight and a half hours of service no longer be able to return to the base of Palma de Mallorca. "We were all in agreement that we were no longer fit," it says in a letter from the crew, which is SPIEGEL. Revision is particularly delicate in the aviation sector, after all, cabin crew is responsible for passenger safety

According to a Ryanair official, flight attendants were picking up the phone and ordered it the next morning. Report to Dublin. As reported by the Aerotelegraph.com industry portal, a Ryanair manager threatened Wednesday a circular letter to cabin crews with measures ranging up to dismissal if work stoppages were to be repeated. Ryanair did not comment on the Cologne events on request.

How well is Leary really aware of cultural change?

After all, Ryanair's directors have recently met with employee representatives on several occasions. But according to the unions, things are not progressing. "Negotiations are not being seriously pursued, but are being dragged on," says project representative Polloczek. "It's obviously keeping the old model alive for as long as possible." And Ufo man Hien tells his first meeting with representatives of Ryanair: "They did not know the legal situation at all or did not want to know it". Ryanair itself says signing agreements have been signed with British and Italian unions, "which shows how seriously we take negotiations with the unions."

The pilots are not enough. "The recognition of the unions is not an end in itself, if the words do not follow any act," says Janis Schmitt, board member of the Vereinigung Cockpit. Thus, relatively moderate labor disputes in Ireland may soon spread to Germany. The ballot is in the cockpit. "Many colleagues here are so frustrated that they will probably go on strike," says a long-time Ryanair employee.

The end of the month is counted. Then Michael O 'Leary will probably have to worry about what the "Punisher" wants from him.