Edition 39
www.thecourier.es
Friday, November 18, 2011
Ryanair will let us starve, say laid-off staff
PLANE CRUEL That is just not true,
BITTER: Our informant fears the sack if Ryanair discover their identity
insist budget airline
This is a file photo - neither of those pictured is our informant
A VICTIM of Ryanair’s slashing of services at Alicante claimed this week that staff have been put on compulsory unpaid leave for up to four months – and barred from working anywhere else. And the contract worker, who fears the sack if he/she is named, told The Courier: ‘’We cannot apply for unemployment benefit or any-
By HAYLEY SIMPSON thing like that because we are still employed. ‘‘But Ryanair don’t care that we don’t have enough savings to pay rent and bills and buy food for months without any income.’’ However, Ryanair’s European Communications Manager Daniel de Carvalho refuted the allegation in a statement received as we were going to press. ‘‘All cabin crew are
And lights out, Alicante! LASER lights sent into the sky by into the sky by Alicante nightclubs are a danger to local air traffic, according to AENA. The Spanish Airports Authority has written to Alicante City Hall asking
for more control on the beams. Attention has also been drawn to laser beams directed at aircraft by some members of the public at night. Although less powerful,
can still be a safety hazard. It is understood there have been an increasing number of incidents lately which the Spain’s Air Safety Agency considers as serious and dangerous.
free to work elsewhere during periods of unpaid leave,’’ he insisted. Ryanair predicted earlier this year that their decision to slash their base aircraft at El Altet from 11 planes to two, and cut half their 62 routes, would mean the loss of over 2,500 support jobs at Alicante.
Crushed And the morale of the company’s own contract staff has clearly been crushed by the cutbacks. Our informant, who contacted us after reading another employee’s grouses, also iclaimed that Ryanair… l Treat the staff ‘like rubbish’ l Provide free flights for pilots when they are not working but make cabin crew
members pay for both tickets and luggage l Don’t pay cabin crew for any delays during their scheduled work hours l Give preference to Irish and UK-based cabin crew over those based in Europe. But Mr de Carvalho retorted: ‘’The claims are largely untrue and based on similar false claims which have circulated previously in the UK and been disproven by facts.’’ Our laid-off informant had maintained: ‘‘Every single year Ryanair make more and more money, have more passengers and open new bases, but they still they treat us like rubbish.’’ ‘‘When it comes to staff travel, we have to pay at
least €30 to €40 for a single flight plus €15 per bag to check in luggage. ‘‘And this on a STANDBY ticket, so if there is no seat available we get stuck at the airport even though we have already paid for our flight. ‘‘Pilots do not need boarding passes - they just get on board showing their Pilot ID, bring a few suitcases and everything is for free. ‘‘Of course, they have a more responsible job than cabin crew but during peak time, we get paid between €1,300 and €1,800 a month while a captain gets around €10,000 and first officers about €5,000 to €6,000. This is not fair at all.’’ Our informant also claimed people working for Ryanair in
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