Ryanair cabin crew strike comes to an end without an agreement and 40 laid off

The five-month Spanish Ryanair cabin crew strike will come to an end this weekend with union members and the company failing to reach an agreement and the low-cost giant laying off 40 employees, including the two highest union officials.

The USO union, which called the strike alongside Sticpla, has publicly decried what it describes as "brutal" workers' rights violations that have prevented employees from going on strike over the past few weeks, making for few flight disruptions. 

They have also accused Ryanair of forcing workers to join another union, CCOO, that did not back the industrial action. 

"The strike comes to an end with a sense of fear, threat, and pressure in the face of the brazen violation of the right to strike," USO's Ernesto Iglesias lamented.

Dispute

USO and Sticpla union members demand that Ryanair revert the salary cuts that took place during the first pandemic lockdown, which the company has only done for those affiliated with the CCOO. The Supreme Court is yet to rule on the matter. 

They also say 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."

They also complain that many of the existing labor conditions are based on court cases they won against the company, such as the €1,000 salary increase in 2022 and of €800 for 2023, as well as the fixed schedule of 5 days of work and three days of rest.