Ryanair’s Belgian cabin staff introduce strike notice

An indefinite strike notice has been introduced by a Belgian trade union to Ryanair management in Dublin on behalf of Belgium-based cabin crew, reports Aviation24.

Staff denounce the salary and working conditions. The movement is tipped to spread throughout Europe.

While no strike action is due for the Easter holidays, it’s not excluded during the summer.

“Three years after having finally accepted to respect Belgian legislation, Ryanair continues to flout the rights of its workers. The cup is full," said the union CNE/ACV Puls, who introduced the action on Friday.

“Everyday, all the time, the staff reports violations to us on the part of Ryanair, which does not respect the rules. It exhausts the staff."

All means of negotiation had been pursued, said union secretary Didier Lebbe, who deplored the absence of a human resources director.

In 2018, trade unions had obtained from Ryanair management the nomination of “a Belgian HRD, who knows Belgian laws“. Although a director had been hired, the post was no longer occupied.

Steward criticises low pay

An airline steward working for the low-cost airline told RTBF that he earned barely €1,650 despite 13 years of experience.  

"As the company does not pay the full gross each month, we never arrive at €1,600 net. The average salary is between €1,200 and €1,400 full-time", said the 47-year-old Portuguese national.

Working hours are restricted to flight time, which meant the time spent at check-in, boarding, disembarkation and during flight delays was not remunerated, he explained.

While the airline provides the employee’s first uniform, a monthly allowance of €43 was not enough to pay dry cleaning bills, said the steward.

While many of his colleagues leave Ryanair after a period of six months to one year Yvan is hoping that the company will "learn to respect people as they should be respected ".