Cabin crew from Malta Air (a subsidiary of Ryanair Holdings) have been fighting for social dialogue in Ryanair in Germany for years. This has culminated in a change in law granting aviation workers in Germany the right to have a Works Council. In recent weeks, these workers have taken the initial legal steps to establish the first Works Council in the German network.
This is a massive step for the workers, and it delivers a strong symbolic message after a challenging summer, where aviation recovered from the crisis at the workers’ expense. Throughout this period, the cabin crew worked at full capacity to cover the staff shortages while under extended COVID-era pay cuts.
It is time Malta Air shows its workers in Germany that the company has changed in these last years of talks with ver.di and workers delegations and that they are learning the importance of respecting the democratic initiative the law is providing workers to enhance social dialogue and to reach better working conditions.
In light of these events, the ETF wants to show solidarity with the German Ryanair network, which bravely decided to establish a workers’ representation in one of the most substantial anti-union companies worldwide.