Wizz Air

It seems to be the same old story that inevitably goes back again and again to the low-cost Hungarian carrier Wizz Air. Just this time, its actions are outrageous as they are directly linked to the war in Ukraine.

Danish pension fund Akademiker Pension announced today that they had sold their shares in the London-listed low-cost carrier Wizz Air, after the company failed to convince them that it was taking meaningful actions to address ongoing concerns about how it treats its workers. Livia Spera, General Secretary of the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), commented: “These investors called Wizz Air out for their poor performance back in October 2021, yet it took almost three months for the company to meet them to discuss why Wizz Air does not recognise unions.”

When life outshines any movie that has ever been made! A story with Romanian and Ukrainian flavours

Spreading fear may generate some complete obedience for some time. But it will not be forever. The voices of those you are trying to silence will be heard again.

A transcript of a secret Wizz Air management meeting from 4 April 2020 which was leaked to staff has been passed to the ETF, revealing that management saw the COVID-19 crisis as the opportunity to "clean up the airline" by using discriminatory and anti-worker criteria in deciding which pilots to dismiss.

ETF calls on Eurocontrol to rethink their approach to giving industry leaders a platform without challenging their labour practices.

ETF and ITF launched an online petition, calling on Ukrainian authorities to investigate the union-busting and wider allegations of labour law violations.

WizzAir seems to be using the COVID-19 pandemic to attack workers' rights and prevent unionising. ETF and ITF call upon Wizz Air to reinstate the recently dismissed trade-unionists, recognise the union, and enter into dialogue with workers’ representatives.

Wizz Air took measures against trade union activists and limited workers' right to free assembly. The Supreme Court of Romania has ruled that the budget airline's discrimination against workers based on their trade union membership was illegal.