Ryanair cabin crew are threatening to strike by the end of next month if the company does not meet a series of demands from members, reports said on Monday.
Unions representing cabin crew, which the company pledged to recognise last December, met in Madrid on Monday to discuss possible industrial action against the airline.
Following the meeting, reports said Spanish union spokesman Ernesto Iglesias told a news conference that unions would strike if Ryanair did not meet their demands by June 30th.
Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian and Italian cabin crew unions were involved in the meeting in Madrid.
They want the airline to apply national laws of the crews’ home bases to their employment terms and the company to negotiate with worker representatives chosen by unions.
Stoppage
Portugal’s SNPVAC trade union staged a strike last month, but the company said the stoppage had little impact on its operations. Ryanair called the action unnecessary and unjustified.
Cabin crew unions met in Lisbon in April, where they originally set the June 30th deadline for the company to meet their demands. Ryanair said it did not comment on talks with its staff.
The airline agreed to recognise trade unions in December, when pilots' groups in the Republic, Germany and Italy were threatening to strike in the run-up to Christmas.
Pilots’ unions have also written to Ryanair, which is in ongoing talks with them on recognition deals. They meet regularly to discuss progress with the airline.
The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association – part of trade union Fórsa – and other groups have outlined a series of demands to Ryanair.
The airline initially began talks with pilots’ unions at the end of last year and with cabin crew this year.
Ryanair has since reached basic recognition deals with several pilots’ unions, including the British Airline Pilots’ Association.
