Easyjet staff joins Ryanair workers and calls nine-day strike in July

BarcelonaThe reactivation of tourism, after two years in which its workers have suffered the consequences of the pandemic, returns with labour conflicts. First it was the cabin crew of Ryanair's Spanish bases and now it is British airline Easyjet's staff who have called nine days of strike in July to protest against the deadlock in the negotiation of their working conditions. The company's 450 employees at the airports of El Prat, Malaga and Palma are called to a 24-hour strike on 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17, 29, 30 and 31 July, coinciding with the first, third and last weekend of the month. The strike call has been presented and announced this Tuesday by the USO union, one of the two organisations behind the mobilisations at Ryanair.

"The reason for this strike is none other than the current deadlock in the negotiation of the second collective bargaining agreement for the company's crew members. The company has no interest in negotiating the improvement of working conditions for crew members in Spain so that we have the same working conditions as those operating in other European bases such as France and Germany," said Miguel Galán, secretary general of USO at Easyjet Malaga. The trade unionist recalls that this agreement to achieve equal wages with other markets has been under discussion since February without any results. In fact, this Tuesday a meeting at SIMA (the Ministry of Labour's mediation body) is scheduled between workers' representatives and the airline management to break the deadlock.

The union argues that Easyjet crew members in Spain have a base salary of €950, €850 less than their colleagues in France or Germany, and that the variable part of their salary depends on flight hours. "Our bases are in very expensive cities and with the base salary we barely cover rent or a mortgage. Spain has the lowest base salary for crew members of all Easyjet bases in Europe. If you fly long hours, you pay the bills, but at the expense of reduced rest time and a higher number of flight hours," Galán criticises. Among the improvements that USO is demanding for the new agreement there is also a seniority supplement, a wage increase according to the CPI during the term of the agreement, the payment of maintenance costs for crew members during the courses they have to take abroad and the annual renewal of uniforms.