Ryanair Cabin Crew Taking 5 Month Strike

Ryanair cabin crew staff based in Spain have recently begun a strike that will last for a lengthy 5 months. This is expected to result in disarray and chaos for over 1 million passengers.

There are 2 main transport unions which are conducting this strike, those being Unión Sindical Obera (USO), and SITCPLA. The strike began in July, and is set to conclude on the 7th of January 2023. The plan for the strikes is that the 2 unions will conduct 24 hour strikes from Monday to Thursday every week, being strategically planned to take place at Christmas time, where there are high demands of passengers wanting to visit family and celebrate Christmas and New Year.

What is Ryanair cabin crew demanding exactly? Well, to start off with, the workers and the unions are calling for the company to restore the 11 cabin crew who were fired for striking in July. It’s also linked to other issues such as pension problems, maternity benefits, working conditions, and pay structures. A union source says;

“We are seeing a trickle of dismissals almost daily. Last week it was the tenth worker and yesterday; another colleague from Barcelona who had been with the company for 12 years.”

So far, the impacts which are the result of the strikes, have been prevalent since the July, when the turbulence began. There have been 310 flights cancelled, and a whopping 3,455 delays at 10 Ryanair bases in Spain, with the most delays occurring at Barcelona El Prat Airport.

Ryanair is facing yet another uncertainty. Although the strikes are going to be disrupting for business, tourism and company revenue, unions and employees have the right to stage protest and demand for better conditions, which is evidently what they are striving to do currently.