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Airline Staff Complain About 'Shocking' Conditions
By Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Workers at leading airline Ryanair have complained about low pay, long hours and having to pay for water during flights, a new report claimed today.
A union website set up to deal with complaints has received more than half a million hits from 51,000 people in the past few months, including comments described as “genuinely shocking”.
David Cockcroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, said: “They paint a picture of sheer misery, where some people are charged for their every basic need and then dare not speak out about the bullying and overwork in case they lose their jobs.”
Members of the cabin crew said some were working up to eight days in a row and 12 hour shifts without a break.
“Prisoners are treated better,” said one.
Other workers complained about poor training, fatigue, low pay and bullying.
-- I couldn't imagine working 8 days of 12 hours straight.
Fortunately I do most of the bullying around here 
*Office Enforcer*
--
Ryanair staff 'flood complaint website'
By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent
Published: January 11 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 11 2005 02:00
Transport unions said yesterday that a website established to act as a forum for disgruntled workers at Ryanair, the leading European low cost airline, had been deluged with responses since it was opened four months ago.
The International Transport Workers' Federation set up the website www.ryan-be-fair.org to offer Ryanair staff "the freedom to discuss their work, conditions and any problems they have".
The federation, which includes many European unions active in the aviation sector, are challenging the famously anti-union management of Ryanair and Michael O'Leary, its chief executive.
The federation said that the website responses had revealed "a shocking catalogue of misery, low pay and oppression" among the airline's workers, who operated in a "climate of fear".
In four months the website had generated more than 525,000 hits from 51,000 visitors. The federation accepted that it had no way of checking whether the majority of the responses purporting to be from Ryanair workers and contractors were genuine, but said that it had been in direct contact with some of the airline's staff.
David Cockroft, federation general secretary, said the comments "paint a picture of sheer misery".
Mr O'Leary said that Ryanair staff were significantly better paid than employees of ITF represented airlines. He said: "You get noise from empty vessels like the ITF with a website that generally is just fiction."
He said that the average salary at Ryanair was €50,582 (£35,357) compared with €41,384 at EasyJet and €38,929 at Aer Lingus.
By Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Workers at leading airline Ryanair have complained about low pay, long hours and having to pay for water during flights, a new report claimed today.
A union website set up to deal with complaints has received more than half a million hits from 51,000 people in the past few months, including comments described as “genuinely shocking”.
David Cockcroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, said: “They paint a picture of sheer misery, where some people are charged for their every basic need and then dare not speak out about the bullying and overwork in case they lose their jobs.”
Members of the cabin crew said some were working up to eight days in a row and 12 hour shifts without a break.
“Prisoners are treated better,” said one.
Other workers complained about poor training, fatigue, low pay and bullying.
-- I couldn't imagine working 8 days of 12 hours straight.
Fortunately I do most of the bullying around here *Office Enforcer*--
Ryanair staff 'flood complaint website'
By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent
Published: January 11 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 11 2005 02:00
Transport unions said yesterday that a website established to act as a forum for disgruntled workers at Ryanair, the leading European low cost airline, had been deluged with responses since it was opened four months ago.| |
The International Transport Workers' Federation set up the website www.ryan-be-fair.org to offer Ryanair staff "the freedom to discuss their work, conditions and any problems they have".
The federation, which includes many European unions active in the aviation sector, are challenging the famously anti-union management of Ryanair and Michael O'Leary, its chief executive.
The federation said that the website responses had revealed "a shocking catalogue of misery, low pay and oppression" among the airline's workers, who operated in a "climate of fear".
In four months the website had generated more than 525,000 hits from 51,000 visitors. The federation accepted that it had no way of checking whether the majority of the responses purporting to be from Ryanair workers and contractors were genuine, but said that it had been in direct contact with some of the airline's staff.
David Cockroft, federation general secretary, said the comments "paint a picture of sheer misery".
Mr O'Leary said that Ryanair staff were significantly better paid than employees of ITF represented airlines. He said: "You get noise from empty vessels like the ITF with a website that generally is just fiction."
He said that the average salary at Ryanair was €50,582 (£35,357) compared with €41,384 at EasyJet and €38,929 at Aer Lingus.
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