Help stop Ryanair’s union-busting in Poland
September 18, 2018
A call from the ITF/ETF campaigns team
As recently reported by the ITF, cabin crew based in Poland have launched a new union. CWR Cabin Crew Union is affiliated to NSZZ Solidarność and represents all crew across Ryanair’s five bases in the country.
However, the new union is already in danger. In base meetings on Thursday, workers presented management with their union registration papers and demanded the company negotiate with CWR on their behalf from now on. This is, of course, part of their fundamental right to freedom of association.
Yet instead of accepting the existence of CWR, Ryanair has immediately attempted to bust the union. Management refused to sign the registration papers and announced that all crew would be moved onto self-employment contracts with its subsidiary Ryanair Sun at the end of the month. Under Polish law, self-employed workers are ineligible for union representation.
Just days before its annual general meeting, when Ryanair wants to claim it’s making progress in industrial relations, this is a clear attempt to resist workers’ rights in one of its key emerging markets. ITF and ETF condemn these immature union-busting tactics and demand that Ryanair begins negotiations with CWR.
We are also asking affiliates to send in messages expressing solidarity with CWR and Polish crew. Please write or record a short message and send it to James Bartholomeusz at ITF, or post it on social media with the hashtags #cabincrewunited and #RyanairMUSTChange. We need to show our Polish colleagues that we stand with them against the Ryanair management.
Thank you for your support!
Tags: anti-union, CWR Cabin Crew Union, James Bartholomeusz, Poland, Ryanair, solidarity