Strikes by Ryanair cabin crew in Spain have led to around 300 cancellations in the months of July and August, according to unions. A figure that Ryanair flatly refuses to recognize and that it attributes "to the lies that the unions are pouring out against the company." The director of Human Resources of the Irish airline, Darrel Hughes, assures that Sitcpla and USO their unions are "too weak" and that they only feel represented in Spain by CC.OO. On the working conditions that the company offers, it is blunt: "At Ryanair there is plenty of availability of some of the best existing schedules in the sector." – The organizers of the strikes (USO and Sitcpla) demand that their airline resume the negotiation of a collective agreement that includes decent working conditions and under Spanish law for their workers. What points of these petitions do you disagree with? – We have sat with them for the last four years. In the last eight months even with the mediation of the State. But USO and Sitcpla do not want to negotiate and only seek conflict and continuous noise. With CC.OO. We have already managed to close an agreement in just six weeks to improve the situation of the workers. We have closed agreements with all the unions in Europe, including the Sepla (airplane pilots in Spain), with which we closed the collective agreement recently. These unions are lying. They are doing it by linking the cancellations to the strikes and with all the accusations they are making against us. Ryanair has been working in accordance with Spanish legislation for a long time. -The representatives of the workers say that they have still not heard from Ryanair since the beginning of the protests. Will you keep up with them in any circumstance? Do you fear that the strikes will last beyond January 2023? -We have no intention of sitting down with USO and Sitcpla. CC.OO represents us, which hundreds of workers are joining every day. Fewer and fewer employees follow these protests and are part of these unions. We sign with CC.OO. on May 30 the first agreement in which there are already some improvements for the workers and new improvements have continued to be signed. We do not believe that these protests will have a greater impact and, therefore, it does not matter if they extend the strikes. USE and Sitcpla its too weak. Related News standard No Europe opens the door to the governor the rights of air passengers Rosalía Sánchez from other countries to avoid cancellations. – We respect one hundred percent the right to strike. It is a fundamental right. It is a lie that there are workers from other bases who are covering the strike. It is just a normal practice in our operation. It has been done, like any other company, to cover sick leave or flight delays in other countries. But in no case have we done it to cover the staff that is supporting the protests. -Some workers also say they have been fired for continuing the strikes. -No, absolutely no one has been fired for following the strikes. At the beginning of the protests, the unions gave the workers bad advice by urging them not to perform the minimum services, which we are obliged to comply with by law. If workers decide not to show up on a flight included in minimum services, the company can take action, as has happened. – Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary estimated once a week that Ryanair's current prices are not sustainable over time. If prices rise, will workers' wages also rise? -It has nothing to do with it. We have already undertaken wage increases among other contract improvements. We continue to make progress on this matter. Their constructive and complicated negotiations in the case of improving the conditions of our workers, something that has been impossible for us with USO and Sitcpla. -On several occasions, these employees have been denounced that Ryanair charges even the water they consumed on the plane. Aren't you planning to change your policy with employees now that the sector is also suffering from a large resignation of workers at a European level? -This is another of the lies told by the unions. In the offices they have always had access to filtered water to take them to the flights. Already now, the cabin crew already have water on the planes as we have agreed with the unions. On the other hand, in our case, we have 100% of the team available for this summer and we are starting the recruitment for next summer season. We have record levels of applications to work at Ryanair. Something that happens because we offer good jobs, well paid and with hours that are among the best in the sector. -Is Ryanair a good place to work compared to the competition? -It is a very good place to work. We operate short-haul flights in Europe and our cabin crew return home at the end of the day. It allows you to reconcile. They leave their base and return to their base. In addition, they work five days and take three off. That is, they are having an extra day compared to other companies.
