In addition to Ryanair pilots threatening strike action on 12 July, cabin crew have written to the airline with a ‘charter’ of demands and say they too could walk out if their conditions are not met.
Members of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) as part of the Cabin Crew Alliance joined Irish trade union Forsa for the first Ryanair Crew Summit.
The meeting included around 80 per cent of Ryanair’s cabin crew and 100 per cent of its ground crew, according to ITF.
The group released the Ryanair Crew Charter, which sets out a series of changes employees want the airline to make to “bring it in line with comparable employers”.
Ryanair began negotiating recognition for staff members in December and recently signed a deal with the Unite union for UK-based cabin crew. However, ITF claims “little progress has been made” since then and “there have been no concrete improvements in pay or working conditions”.
Cabin crews’ list of demands includes changes to “economic conditions, safety and rostering, a fair and supportive work culture, agency employment, the right to sick pay and sales targets”. They are also asking for employment contracts to recognise national law and jurisdiction in the country a worker is based.
Reflecting demands made by pilots based in Ireland, the charter also asks for seniority pay, a “fair” system for base transfers and promotions and advanced warning on operational changes such as the closing of a base.
They are also demanding compensation for “disruptive schedules and last-minute duty changes”, parity in living standards across bases, a universal pension scheme, unpaid leave, predictable working hours and “not being forced to open an Irish bank account”.
The group says that if Ryanair fails to respond to its demands “promptly and appropriately”, they will consider industrial action including strikes over the summer.
Meanwhile, cabin crew in Italy say they will strike for 24 hours on 25 July and those in Spain, Portugal and Belgium will strike for 48 hours on 25 and 26 July.
A Ryanair spokesperson has said the demands are “pointless”, listing a set of benefits it says crew already receive.
The airline told The Independent: “Ryanair is already engaged in extensive negotiations with national cabin crew unions across Europe during which all of these, and other issues, are being negotiated, and we have already concluded agreements in the UK and Italy.”