Ryanair’s Belgian Staff Threatens Holiday Strikes, Morocco Flights at Risk

The staff is angry with the Irish low-cost company. "Since it has been established in Belgium, Ryanair has not stopped flouting the laws," denounces Hans Elsen, permanent secretary of ACV Puls in an open letter co-written by the CNE and addressed to the Ministers of Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne and Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne. While he acknowledges that things may have improved in 2018 after the first strikes by workers, and this without any help from the public authorities, he nevertheless points out that the company continues not to respect Belgian labor legislation "without anyone doing anything about it".

Ryanair has taken actions including the temporary closure of the Brussels base (at Brussels Airport, editor’s note) which has negatively impacted around 80 jobs, including 44 flight attendants and 17 pilots. It does not open a dialogue with the staff who feel aggrieved. Apart from the monthly meetings of the works council and the committee for the protection and prevention of work (CPPT), "no interview is planned for the moment between the cabin crew and the management of Ryanair to address these issues," reports BX1.

Faced with the situation, CNE and ACV Puls have launched an appeal to the Ministers of Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS) and Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD). They hope that they will be able to exercise their authority to put an end to the trampling of the law. "The end-of-year holidays are approaching and, if nothing moves on the side of Ryanair or the Belgian authorities, there is a good chance that the staff will express their anger on this occasion through social movements," warn the two unions.