Following three days of strikes (June 25th, 26th, and 27th), which resulted in the cancellation of 210 flights, USO is now threatening to go further and call an indefinite strike in August if the company “continues to show no interest in negotiating the Third Collective Agreement for Cabin Crew and providing us with a real, dignified, and serious proposal”.
The union alleges that EasyJet crew salaries in Spain “are far below those of other European crew members, with differences ranging from 30% more in Portugal to 210% more in Switzerland.” “And 79% of the workforce in Spain are temporary workers, with lower salaries,” the report states.
EasyJet’s USO general secretary, Pier Luigi Copello, argues that “these salaries and conditions make it difficult for crew members to live decently in the cities where they operate bases in Spain, which are among the most expensive in the country.”
At the same time, the union protested to the Labour Inspectorate the airline’s alleged scabbing methods, which included “bringing in crews from other European bases to operate scheduled flights in Spain.” The union specifically asserts that the airline has redeployed cabin staff from bases in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland to operate these flights.
In addition, he says, “EasyJet has also engaged in various acts of pressure on staff that have obstructed the legitimate exercise of their labour and union rights.”
Meanwhile, the low-cost carrier claims that “we take our responsibilities as employers very seriously and hire all of our staff under local contracts, which are aligned with local legislation and market practices.” As a result, it emphasises that “working conditions cannot be compared across jurisdictions.” Furthermore, we continue to get a large number of applications for cabin crew positions in Spain, demonstrating the market competitiveness of our offerings.”
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