Sat, June 25, 2022
Britain's railway system once again came to a virtual standstill on Saturday and flights in Europe were disrupted as strikes in the travel sector hit the continent.
Tens of thousands of rail workers in the UK staged the latest day-long walkout over pay and job security, hampering weekend plans for those already hit by similar strikes on Tuesday and Thursday.
Only around a fifth of services are set to operate on heavily reduced hours, with those still running starting much later in the morning than usual and set to end as early as 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).
The RMT rail union insists this week's actions are necessary as wages have failed to keep pace with UK inflation, which has hit a 40-year high and is on course to keep rising.
It also wants a threat of compulsory redundancies withdrawn.
RMT secretary general Mick Lynch said its members were "standing up for all working people trying to get a pay rise and some job security".
"In a modern economy, workers need to be properly rewarded for their work, enjoy good conditions and have the peace of mind that their job will not be taken away from them," he added.
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: "Unfortunately, the RMT's decision to carry out another day of needless and premature strike action means our passengers will suffer again on Saturday.
"A fraction of trains will run compared to a usual Saturday service, with trains starting later in the morning and finishing much earlier in the evening."
- Airline strikes -
Britain, like much of Europe, is suffering from rocketing inflation and stagnant economic growth, raising the prospect of a summer of strikes across the continent.
Staff from budget Irish airline Ryanair staged strikes in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Belgium on Saturday.
That forced the cancellation of two flights between Lisbon and Brussels, while in Spain, the USO transport union said 75 flights had been cancelled from six different locations.
The union also denounced the fact that striking staff had been replaced by workers brought in from Morocco, a tactic which it described as illegal because it violated the right to strike.
In Belgium, the walkout meant that only 41 percent of Ryanair flights left Charleroi airport near Brussels on Saturday. Since Friday, the budget carrier has been forced to cancel 127 flights, an airport spokeswoman told AFP.
The situation in Belgium was further complicated by a three-day strike by Brussels Airlines staff ending Saturday. That has forced the carrier, which is owned by German giant Lufthansa, to cancel 60 percent -- or some 300 -- of its flights since Thursday.
- More cancellations Sunday -
Ryanair flights were also cancelled in France, Saturday. Damien Mourgues of the SNPNC union, said 36 out of 80 flights had been cancelled because of a walk-out by air stewards.
The airports at Bordeaux and Marseille said nine and 12 flights respectively would be cancelled on Sunday.
Adding to Europe's travel problems, Austria Airlines said Saturday it had had to cancel 52 out of 360 scheduled flights because or a rise in the number of Covid infections among its staff.
"Our crew members are sick, cases of infection are rising," a spokeswoman for the airline told AFP.
The aviation sector is struggling to recover from the pandemic, which led to mass layoffs as international travel was put on hold.
Faced with staff shortages, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was forced to announce earlier this month that it would be limiting traveller numbers this summer and cancelling flights.
The shortages have already caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled, while huge queues have angered travellers.
jwp-bur/jj/har
Ryanair cabin staff strike as labour unrest spreads across Europe
Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira
Fri, June 24, 2022
LISBON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Some cabin crew at Ryanair went on strike in Belgium, Spain and Portugal on Friday in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the latest in a wave of walkouts staged by workers across different sectors in Europe.
Surging inflation across the continent has led to millions of workers struggling with rising costs of living, prompting trade unions to demand higher wage increases, often backed by strike calls.
Airlines and airport operators have also struggled with staff shortages to handle the flow of passengers as demand for travel bounces back with the end of most COVID-19 restrictions. Workers at several other airlines, including British Airways, are also planning strikes this summer.
Ryanair cabin crew unions in Belgium, Spain and Portugal called a three-day strike starting on Friday. Staff in France and Italy were expected to walk out over the weekend. Crews in Spain are set to strike again on June 30 and July 1-2.
Workers say the Irish airline does not respect local labour laws covering issues such as the minimum wage and urge Ryanair's bosses to improve working conditions.
"Conditions are terrible," said Ricardo Penarroias, president of SNPVAC, the union behind Portugal's walkout. "A crew member is not even allowed to take a bottle of water on a flight."
Ryanair told Reuters last week it had negotiated labour agreements covering 90% of its staff across Europe and that it did not expect widespread disruption this summer.
WAGE-PRICE SPIRAL
Much of the labour unrest has focused on the transport sector as it deals with a return to travel after pandemic lockdowns.
French unions issued a joint call on Friday for a national railway worker strike on July 6 and a walkout has also crippled Britain's rail network this week.
There are signs of the unrest spreading to other sectors – French trade union CGT is organising a one-day strike on Friday to seek higher wages for oil refinery workers after talks with operator TotalEnergies broke down.
With inflation running at more than 8% in the euro area, a 40-year-high of 9.1% in Britain, and in double digits across some central and eastern European economies, authorities are worried of a wage-price spiral developing in which higher wage demands add to inflationary pressures.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde has warned that the longer inflation remains high, the more likely it will influence wage negotiations.
Pilot and cabin crew unions of Brussels Airlines, the Belgian subsidiary of Lufthansa, also started a strike on Thursday. Over the three days, Brussels Airlines expects to cancel about 60% of its 533 flights.
Ryanair said in a statement fewer than 2% of its 3,000 flights on Friday had so far been affected by the strikes, mainly due to what it described as "minor disruptions" in Belgium.
"Ryanair expects over 98% of its 3,000 daily flights will operate normally on Saturday and Sunday," a figure that included disruptions from strikes by cabin crew and French air-traffic control operators, and from airport staff shortages, it said.
Local media in Belgium said 127 flights at Charleroi airport would be cancelled, affecting 21,000 passengers. Ten additional Ryanair flights per day were set to be cancelled at Brussels airport.
WORKERS' RIGHT
In Lisbon, two flights were cancelled on Friday so far, both to Brussels. A total of 18 Ryanair flights between Brussels and Spanish cities were cancelled on Friday and Saturday, Spain's cabin staff union, USO, said.
USO said five flights from the French city of Marseille and one from Bordeaux to tourists destinations in Spain such as Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca were cancelled this weekend.
In Spain, the government forced the company to operate 73%-82% of flights over the strike period to maintain minimum services, obliging most to go to work.
Ernesto Iglesias, from USO, said the government's decision limited workers' right to strike.
A small group of Ryanair workers used their time off to join demonstrations at the airports of Valencia and Barcelona. One protester held a sign saying: "The Spanish government is an accomplice of Ryanair."
Commenting on the situation in Spain, Ryanair's CEO Eddie Wilson said workers there demanded a 165% salary increase.
The SNPVAC union said not many flights would be cancelled from Portuguese airports because the airline placed strikers on stand-by and asked cabin crew in other countries to replace them. Ryanair has said SNPVAC only represented 3% of its staff in Portugal.
Outside Lisbon airport, American Michael Rossides, 59, said he booked an EasyJet flight because he thought Ryanair would cancel but that ended up not happening.
"We have wasted a fair amount of time, an extra couple of hours, and a few hundred dollars," he said.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Patricia Rua and Miguel Pereira in Lisbon, Inti Landaro, Corina Rodriguez and Christina Thykjaer in Madrid and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira
Fri, June 24, 2022
LISBON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Some cabin crew at Ryanair went on strike in Belgium, Spain and Portugal on Friday in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the latest in a wave of walkouts staged by workers across different sectors in Europe.
Surging inflation across the continent has led to millions of workers struggling with rising costs of living, prompting trade unions to demand higher wage increases, often backed by strike calls.
Airlines and airport operators have also struggled with staff shortages to handle the flow of passengers as demand for travel bounces back with the end of most COVID-19 restrictions. Workers at several other airlines, including British Airways, are also planning strikes this summer.
Ryanair cabin crew unions in Belgium, Spain and Portugal called a three-day strike starting on Friday. Staff in France and Italy were expected to walk out over the weekend. Crews in Spain are set to strike again on June 30 and July 1-2.
Workers say the Irish airline does not respect local labour laws covering issues such as the minimum wage and urge Ryanair's bosses to improve working conditions.
"Conditions are terrible," said Ricardo Penarroias, president of SNPVAC, the union behind Portugal's walkout. "A crew member is not even allowed to take a bottle of water on a flight."
Ryanair told Reuters last week it had negotiated labour agreements covering 90% of its staff across Europe and that it did not expect widespread disruption this summer.
WAGE-PRICE SPIRAL
Much of the labour unrest has focused on the transport sector as it deals with a return to travel after pandemic lockdowns.
French unions issued a joint call on Friday for a national railway worker strike on July 6 and a walkout has also crippled Britain's rail network this week.
There are signs of the unrest spreading to other sectors – French trade union CGT is organising a one-day strike on Friday to seek higher wages for oil refinery workers after talks with operator TotalEnergies broke down.
With inflation running at more than 8% in the euro area, a 40-year-high of 9.1% in Britain, and in double digits across some central and eastern European economies, authorities are worried of a wage-price spiral developing in which higher wage demands add to inflationary pressures.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde has warned that the longer inflation remains high, the more likely it will influence wage negotiations.
Pilot and cabin crew unions of Brussels Airlines, the Belgian subsidiary of Lufthansa, also started a strike on Thursday. Over the three days, Brussels Airlines expects to cancel about 60% of its 533 flights.
Ryanair said in a statement fewer than 2% of its 3,000 flights on Friday had so far been affected by the strikes, mainly due to what it described as "minor disruptions" in Belgium.
"Ryanair expects over 98% of its 3,000 daily flights will operate normally on Saturday and Sunday," a figure that included disruptions from strikes by cabin crew and French air-traffic control operators, and from airport staff shortages, it said.
Local media in Belgium said 127 flights at Charleroi airport would be cancelled, affecting 21,000 passengers. Ten additional Ryanair flights per day were set to be cancelled at Brussels airport.
WORKERS' RIGHT
In Lisbon, two flights were cancelled on Friday so far, both to Brussels. A total of 18 Ryanair flights between Brussels and Spanish cities were cancelled on Friday and Saturday, Spain's cabin staff union, USO, said.
USO said five flights from the French city of Marseille and one from Bordeaux to tourists destinations in Spain such as Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca were cancelled this weekend.
In Spain, the government forced the company to operate 73%-82% of flights over the strike period to maintain minimum services, obliging most to go to work.
Ernesto Iglesias, from USO, said the government's decision limited workers' right to strike.
A small group of Ryanair workers used their time off to join demonstrations at the airports of Valencia and Barcelona. One protester held a sign saying: "The Spanish government is an accomplice of Ryanair."
Commenting on the situation in Spain, Ryanair's CEO Eddie Wilson said workers there demanded a 165% salary increase.
The SNPVAC union said not many flights would be cancelled from Portuguese airports because the airline placed strikers on stand-by and asked cabin crew in other countries to replace them. Ryanair has said SNPVAC only represented 3% of its staff in Portugal.
Outside Lisbon airport, American Michael Rossides, 59, said he booked an EasyJet flight because he thought Ryanair would cancel but that ended up not happening.
"We have wasted a fair amount of time, an extra couple of hours, and a few hundred dollars," he said.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Patricia Rua and Miguel Pereira in Lisbon, Inti Landaro, Corina Rodriguez and Christina Thykjaer in Madrid and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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