Ryanair cabin crew strike causes further disruption in Catalonia

Ryanair cabin crew resumed their strike against what they consider to be the company's poor working conditions on Wednesday, causing further cancellations and delays in Catalonia.

As of 1 pm, a total of 6 flights had been canceled at the Barcelona El Pratairport to and from Brussels, Milan and Rome. Another 29 flights - 14 departures and 15 arrivals - were also delayed. While in the northern Catalan airport of Girona, there have been four delayed flights: three arrivals, and one departure, as of 1 pm.

The strike is set to last until July 28 except for the weekends of July 16 to 17 and 22 to 24 and has been called for all ten airports in Spain where the Irish airline operates, including Barcelona and Girona.

On Friday it will coincide with the Easyjet strike as staff members are set to stop working on July 15 to 17 and 29 to 31.

Dispute

The USO and Sitcpla unions argue that Ryanair employees are treated like "third-class workers" and call on the company to comply with "basic labor rights and court rulings." 

According to them, the low-cost airline should sit down to negotiate "a collective agreement and decent working conditions for all staff."

"Ryanair is the only international company in our country without a collective workers' agreement," Lidia Arasanz, the secretary general of the USO trade union at Ryanair, said.

On May 31, the Irish company reached an agreement with the CCOO union regarding pay and working conditions that was rejected by USO and Sitcpla, as they point out that the agreement only applies to workers who are affiliated with the CCOO trade union but the majority of Ryanair cabin crew are affiliated with USO and Sitcpla. 

They also claim that many of the conditions agreed upon are actually based on court rulings won against the company, such as the salary increase of €1,000 in 2022 and €800 for 2023, as well as the fixed schedule of 5 days' work and three days' rest.

"In addition to negotiating an agreement without the unions representing staff, Ryanair is still not applying Spanish labor law," a USO statement adds, detailing that cabin crew are still not entitled to bank holidays in lieu, they have problems requesting a reduction in working hours, they do not receive salaries in the legally required format, and they cannot drink water on planes.