Ryanair faces serious disruption when staff strike tomorrow, January 8. Those working for the budget airline in Spain will stage a walk out, as previously announced, and carry through with their plans. It will be the first of three stints of scheduled planned industrial action, with similar strikes penned in for January 10 and 13. Each will last 24 hours and see workers from unions USO and SITCPLA join forces.
Which Ryanair flights are affected?
The strikes will affect Ryanair flights to and from Spain on January 8.
They will last for a period of 24 hours.
It could affect thousands of British passengers who are awaiting flights back to the UK, if it goes ahead.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government has stipulated that all domestic flights and 35 per cent of international services must run.
What has Ryanair said about the January 8 strike?
Ryanair has said it still expects to run a full flight schedule on January 8.
In a statement posted on Twitter the company said: “Due to the efforts of the Spanish Government minimum services regulator, and the support of our pilots and cabin crew in Spain, we expect to operate a full schedule of flights to/from (and within) Spain on Tuesday, January 8.
“All passengers scheduled to fly should check in online as normal and arrive at their departure airport at least 2 hours prior to their time of scheduled departure.”
Why are Ryanair staff in Spain going on strike?
Despite negotiations, Ryanair and staff unions had failed to drum up an agreement amid a row over working conditions and pay.
Workers gripes are centred on staff in Spain being handed out Irish versions of contracts, rather than Spanish ones, under local law.
Ryanair were given 10 days to meet their workers needs and therefore avoid the walkout entirely.
What have the unions said about the Ryanair situation?
Claims by the unions supporting the 1,800 staff who work on bases in Spain suggest they have “worse working conditions” than others due to Ryanair disregarding Spanish legislation.
A statement from the two unions said: “From Sitcpla and the USO, we hope that the company will reconsider and agree to comply with Spanish legislation.”
USO representative Jairo Gonzalo said in a statement it was “disgusting” Ryanair “continues to refuse to accept national law with all its consequences.”
“It is unprecedented that we still have to fight for Ryanair to comply with Spanish laws and because the rules of the game have to be translated into a paper,” added Óscar Ayuste, spokesperson for the Sitcpla union.
Ryanair was hit by a crippling wave of strikes last summer. Irish pilots went on strike over a number of weeks, with thousands of passengers affected.
When did Ryanair last strike?
On 28 September 2018, 250 flights were cancelled across Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Belgium.
Approximately 30,000 passengers were affected by the strike.
Ryanair’s profit warning in October indicated the strikes cost the airline as much as €120 million.
