UK 
United States
Around 650 Ryanair cabin crew will now be represented by a Union, in a move described as an “historic agreement.”
The crews operating out of Ryanair’s UK bases in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London Stansted, Luton, Manchester and Prestwick airports will be covered by Unite when it comes to negotiating their pay, hours and holidays.
However, some crew members are indirectly employed via agencies such as Crewlink and therefore are not part of the Unite deal.
The move follows months of talks after Ryanair finally recognised unions for pilots in December 2017. Previously, the airline had been accused of “bullying” its cabin crew by warning of consequences for those whose average sales fell “below budget”.
The Guardian previously reported that crew were told they may face “disciplinary proceedings” and have their working hours changed unless they sold more scratch cards and perfume.
In a private Facebook group comprised of Ryanair cabin crew, an anonymous member of staff called the carrier “a bunch of bullies” and another added: “They don’t care if you leave the company, for each one of us leaving they can replace with 20 new young guys coming from school and working as they want.”
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey was pleased with the new developments. “This is a historic agreement and a significant step by Ryanair,” he said.
“For the first time ever, Ryanair’s UK cabin crew will have a recognised union in their corner to deal with workplace issues and collectively bargain on pay."
“I would like to thank all those involved in securing this agreement which shows what can be achieved by patient, determined negotiation. Over the coming days and weeks Unite will be seeking similar agreements with the employment agencies which indirectly employ the remainder of Ryanair’s UK cabin crew.”
Image credit – Ryanair DAC
