Unions criticise Ryanair’s industrial relations practices

In November 2003, European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) activists from France, Spain and Italy joined protests outside the labour tribunal at Charleroi in Belgium against the Irish budget airline Ryanair. The immediate issue was the dismissal of three Ryanair employees based at Charleroi, but the trade unions claim that the company general's general industrial relations practices are poor.

The Irish-based 'budget' airline, Ryanair, operates in 14 European countries but, according to the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), 'does not recognise any worker organisation and accordingly no trade union has hitherto been able to establish itself in Ryanair to defend cabin crew'. ETF - which represents air transport trade unions across Europe - claims further that workers are afraid to join a union, fearing that this would cause them to lose their job. ETF alleges that Ryanair has 'anti-social and anti-union practices'.

Charleroi airport in Belgium, which is located south of Brussels, is Ryanair’s continental European hub and accounts for 10% of the airline’s turnover. The company recently dismissed three workers at Charleroi and ETF states that the contracts of these employees, who were working out a trial period, were terminated without any adequate explanation. ETF also claims that Ryanair has infringed Belgian law governing: trial periods; notice periods; overtime; holiday pay; monthly minimum average income; luncheon vouchers; and transport expenses. It states that all Ryanair workers are employed on Irish contracts and thus have no possibility of being defended in the country in which they routinely work.

ETF staged a symbolic protest against Ryanair on 17 November 2003 outside Charleroi’s labour tribunal, which is to rule on the dismissed workers' appeals (BE0312302N). Trade union activists from France, Spain and Italy joined demonstrators from the Belgian Union of White-Collar Staff, Technicians and Managers (Syndicat des Employés, Techniciens et Cadres de Belgique/Bedienden, Technicien Kaders van België, SETCa/BBTK) and National Federation of White-Collar Workers (Centrale Nationale des Employés/Landelijke Bedienden Centrale CNE/LBC) Through this action, the demonstrators demanded that:

• Ryanair should fully recognise worker organisations and trade unions in all countries where it employs personnel;

• the European Commission should draw up European legislation establishing that the employment contracts of air crew in Europe should be governed by the law of the country where the workers routinely perform their work, even if they are temporarily based in other countries;

• the Charleroi labour tribunal should guarantee the three dismissed workers all their social rights according to Belgian law; and

• the European Parliament should expedite a study of the economic and social consequences of the economic model of the 'low-cost' airlines, which should be required to operate within the competition rules defined by the European Union.