LONDON – Ryanair cabin crew based in Belgium are due to go on strike between April 22-24, 2022 due to management conflicts.

According to the CNE/ACV Puls union, management at Ryanair “does not respect the fundamental rights of its Belgian employees”, Aviation24 reports.

“Three years after having finally accepted to respect Belgian legislation, Ryanair continues to flout the rights of its workers, Didier Lebbe, the CNE Secretary said.

Wage Slips Are Often Wrong…

The ACV Puls union claims also that there is a lack of understanding of Belgian law by the carrier’s human resource director.

On top of this, Hans Elsen of that union claims that wage slips are often wrong:

“Wage slips are often wrong, wages are not paid correctly, essential documents for social legislation are not in order, and so on.”

On the topic of wages also, the unions have criticized Ryanair for not increasing pay, especially when Brussels Charleroi makes a substantial profit margin:

“They work on holidays, weekends, early and late hours for a paltry 2,000 euros gross, while Ryanair in Charleroi has a profit margin of 30 percent”.

Disruption Ahead…

This strike will no doubt affect holidaymakers who are due to travel on that weekend to the plethora of destinations that Ryanair serves from Charleroi.

CNE/ACV Puls has not given an indication yet into how many staff will be going on strike, but based on photos from the European Cockpit Association, it seems that quite a few employees will be striking.

Ryanair hasn’t openly commented on the strike action, but no doubt there will be some reaction to this in due course, as the Irish low-cost carrier is known for harsh responses.

It is unclear whether this issue will be resolved in time for the strikes or not.

Could There Be More Strikes?

If no solution is generated or agreed upon, then there is a substantial chance that strikes could be organized again throughout the Summer.

This would be in the union’s interest to do as carriers like Ryanair are banking on an extremely high-demand Summer schedule, where revenue capture is essential.

All eyes are on Ryanair to ensure that these issues are resolved, as further disruption down the line out of Charleroi would affect their profit margins and also passenger numbers too.

We could potentially see more flights canceled as well if more strikes are organized too. It seems it’s very much the case of: “Your move, Ryanair”.