EasyJet aims to ‘avoid disruption’ from Spanish cabin crew strike

EasyJet aims to operate as normal as cabin crew in Spain stage a strike over pay for three days next week.

 

The Spanish USO union warned of industrial action on June 25-27.

 

More than 650 flight attendants based in Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma could be involved involving 21 aircraft.

 

However, the airline said it intended to operate normally and hoped to avoid any disruption.

 

The union said cabin crew at the UK budget carrier earn much less in Spain than in other countries.

 

The aim of the strike was "to level the crews’ working and wage conditions in Spain with the ones at other bases of the company in Europe”.

 

A spokesperson for the airline told Reuters it would do everything possible to minimise the impact of the strikes.

 

They added that easyJet employed crews in eight different countries "on local terms and conditions”.

 

Pier Luigi Copello, USO general secretary for Easyjet Spain, was quoted by Spanish media as saying: "The workforce is asking for decent, fair, and equitable working conditions in line with the European standards Easyjet applies in other countries.”

 

He highlighted the "sharp rise in the cost of living in Spain, which is now comparable to that of other European countries."

 

"The same cannot be said for the wages of Easyjet cabin crew in Spain, which remain close to the minimum wage (SMI)," Copello said.

 

The strike coincides with deadlocked negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.

 

A mediation session between the union and airline is scheduled for today (Wednesday) "in an effort to reach an agreement that could lead to the strike being called off," a UCO statement said.

 

Spanish regulations compel airline workers to provide a minimum level of service during industrial action to limit disruption.