Union announces three-day strike at Ryanair in two Belgian airports
The Ryanair cabin crew working at the Belgian airports of Zaventem and Charleroi will lay down work on April 22, 23 and 24. That is what Christian trade unions CNE and ACV Puls have announced.
The strike follows negotiations on a new collective labour agreement on cabin crew wages and bonuses. A final mediation attempt between the staff representatives and the management "has not led to the desired solutions", the unions argue. The unions say that Ryanair, which employs about 650 people in Belgium, "refuses to invest in a human resources policy". They point out that there is no HR service in Belgium, for instance. Wages are said to not be paid properly.
"Some staff members have been without pay or benefits for months as they are no longer allowed to fly because of pregnancy, for example", ACV trade unionist Hans Elsen explains.
In 2018, under union pressure, the Irish airline accepted the application of Belgian labour law and appointed a human resources director with knowledge of local legislation. This person is already no longer in office. In addition, a collective agreement for crew members concluded in the spring of 2019 expired at the end of March. The agreement provided for a fixed monthly salary, regardless of the number of flights carried out. According to the union, 75 percent of cabin crew receive the sector minimum wage. "They work on holidays, weekends, early and late hours for a paltry 2,000 euros gross, while Ryanair in Charleroi has a profit margin of 30 percent," they state.
The pilots are not taking part in the strike, but negotiations are ongoing for them as well. At the beginning of April, CNE trade unionist Didier Lebbe warned that social peace was not guaranteed for them either. The last strike at Ryanair in Belgium dates back to September 2018. At that time, Belgian Ryanair staff lay down work for four days, causing 172 flights to be cancelled or delayed. The company recently reached an agreement with Belgian consumer organisation Test Aankoop on compensation for the some 33,000 passengers who were affected at the time.
(KOR)
© PETRAS MALUKAS / AFP