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ARCHIVED - Ryanair and Spanish cabin crew unions go to war over summer strikes
The airline has reached a pay agreement with the majority of its cabin crew in Spain
The summer in Spain and much of Europe was marked by delayed and cancelled flights as a result of cabin crew, airport staff and even pilot strikes. With autumn upon us, travel seems to have settled down somewhat, but now several Spanish unions are at each other’s throats, with Irish budget airline Ryanair at the centre of the dispute.
On the plus side, the carrier has confirmed that it has finally come to an agreement over cabin crew wages and working conditions with CCOO, the union representing the vast majority of its flight attendants in Spain.
However, the two smaller unions, USO and Sitcpla, have now begun legal proceedings over an alleged “violation of freedom of association”, something which Ryanair has dismissed as a “distraction” from the important task of getting its planes back in the air.
Never an airline to mince its words, Ryanair said in a statement that the two unions are trying to detract “from their own failures when it comes to negotiating and reaching agreements for their small number of members,” adding that they are now trying to jump on the CCOO bandwagon to benefit from the deal signed with the carrier.
Ryanair is confident it can “defend the matter in court.”
USO and Sitcpla announced on Monday October 17 that they had filed a lawsuit before the National Court against Ryanair and CCOO, claiming that they have violated the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining by signing an “extra-statutory” agreement without their involvement. Furthermore, they have highlighted "the airline's refusal to negotiate with the unions elected by the workers the first collective agreement for airline crew members."
The lawsuit asks the National Court to declare the violation of the right to effective judicial protection and to order Ryanair and CCOO to immediately cease their so-called anti-union behaviour.
Image: Archive
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