The Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court has wanted the Ryanair company to be condemned for violating the right to strike of the workers belonging to the cabin crew group in the strikes called by USO and by the Independent Union of Passenger Cabin Crew. Airlines (Sitcpla) between June 2022 and January 2023.
This is stated in a note issued by the Public Ministry, in which they also report in favor of the conviction of two other companies, subcontractors of the airline, for the same reasons: Crewlink Ireland LTD and Workforce International Contractors LTD.
The strikes were a consequence of repeated claims for job insecurity, and the Prosecutor’s Office, after the trial was held on November 29 in the Social Chamber of the AN, points out that it has been observed that the airline “repeatedly and “repeat acts tending to hinder and prevent the legitimate exercise of the right to strike through acts of various natures.”
Thus, it lists that there was a “lack of information to workers about scheduled flights”, an “abusive designation of the number of workers for the provision of minimum services” was made, there was a “use of workers from third states” and there were warnings. of disciplinary dismissals.
It should be remembered that the unions initiated the first legal actions after Ryanair failed to comply, as they denounced, with the Minimum Services Resolution issued by the Ministry of Transport in the first days of strike scheduled for June 24, 25 and 26 of that year. . Ryanair included, they maintained, all those that were scheduled as protected flights, resulting in an illegal setting of 100% minimum services.
USO and Sitcpla pointed out that Ryanair crew members were forced to operate those flights under the guise of minimum services, so they could not effectively exercise their right to strike.
At the same time, USO and Sitcpla also filed a complaint with the Special Directorate of Labor and Social Security Inspection against Ryanair to inform this body of the “multiple irregularities” that, again, the airline would have committed “with total impunity”, such as the assignment of guards, both at home and at home, which on that first day was 113% more compared to any other Friday.
It so happens that in April of this same year, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Ryanair and its subcontractors Crewlink Ireland Ltd and Workforce Contractors Ltd against the ruling of the National Court of 2021 that declared that these companies violated the right to strike of the workers who participated in the one called in 10 days of September 2019, as well as the rights of freedom of association of USO and Sitcpla.
The ruling ratified by the Social Chamber of the Supreme Court declared the radical nullity of several of the business actions, as contrary to the fundamental rights to strike and freedom of association, and condemned the defendant companies to compensate the two plaintiff unions for moral damages. caused with the sum of 30,000 euros for each of them.
