The negotiations between the management of Ryanair and UGT representatives at Azul Handling, the company that provides ground services to the airline, are currently at a standstill. The latter is preparing to launch a strike against Ryanair in Spain during the summer.
Consequently, the second round of strikes, which the union has called for, will occur this weekend, specifically on August 23rd and 24th, at 24 airports in the Aena network (Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Girona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Menorca, Murcia, Oviedo, Palma, Reus, Santander, Santiago, Seville, Tenerife North and South, Valencia, Vigo, Vitoria, and Zaragoza). This is subject to any last-minute surprises.
Moreover, the organisation anticipates the recruitment of personnel from Menzies, a handling company that offers services in Spain to prominent airlines including British Airways, Emirates, American Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.
The Irish low-cost airline’s operations were not significantly disrupted during the first three days of the demonstrations (August 15th, 16th, and 17th). The company violated the right to strike by reinforcing its personnel during the strikes and assigning work shifts two or three hours in advance, according to the UGT (Union of Workers’ Unions). Additionally, it proclaimed all flights to be protected during the strike, rendering it nearly impossible to execute.
UGT made the decision to take this action in response to “the severe situation our workplace is currently experiencing, which the company has refused to address.” For instance, it alluded to “the severe and repressive penalties imposed on individuals who decline to work non-mandatory hours, which may result in a period of up to 36 days without employment or compensation.”
The union also accuses the company of engaging in “fraudulent hiring practices that prevent the consolidation of seniority and keep a large portion of the workforce in precarious conditions,” as well as of conducting “continuous attacks on union action: withholding information, blocking the committee, and using sanctions as punishment.”
Author: Derek Appleton
No Comment! Be the first one.