easyJet, British Airways and Wizz Air travellers to Spain facing major disruption
British holidaymakers travelling to Spain face a double blow as further strike action has been confirmed affecting major airports and airlines. The union UGT has already declared repeated walkouts in Ryanair's baggage handling department, commencing on August 15.
However, the threat of delays and flight cancellations has worsened after 1,500 workers with another firm, Menzies, announced their own industrial action, also beginning this month. Menzies provides services to airlines including Emirates, British Airways, American Airlines, easyJet, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian and Wizz Air.
The UGT union has announced a strike by ground staff of the Menzies group that will impact five Spanish airports, including Barcelona-El Prat, Alicante, Palma, Malaga and Tenerife South, on August 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31. The workers' representatives are objecting to what they regard as "serious and repeated breaches of labour agreements and the conditions established by agreement" by Menzies, they said in a statement.
Amongst these "violations", UGT highlights "salary breaches, violation of subrogation rights, disorganisation in working hours and schedules." It also alleges "constant errors in the management of personnel and payroll", reports the Express.
The union also argues that there is a shortage of staff to handle the workload and an "arbitrary imposition of holidays." It alleges that Menzies is violating the sectoral handling agreement, the company's own agreement, and the sectoral agreement ratified by the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA) in December 2024, which led to the cancellation of a previous strike.
The UGT union has already called for multiple strikes in Ryanair's handling department. This comes during a period when Spain is teeming with tourists at the peak of the season and school holidays.
This strike, involving over 3,000 workers who load and unload luggage, will take place on August 15, 16, and 17 and then every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In even more concerning news, unless a resolution is reached, the Ryanair strikes could continue until next January.
Under legal rules, the workers are required to provide a "minimum service" which is yet to be determined, but the action will still significantly affect travellers. The protests are "against the sanctions imposed on workers and the abuse of hours."
Ryanair's bases are situated in Valencia, Alicite, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Ibiza, Palma, Girona, Tenerife South, Lanzarote and Santiago.
The strike at Azul Handling (Ryanair's handling subsidiary) is set for August 15, 16 and 17 and will continue every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until at least December 31, as confirmed by the UGT in a statement. The actions could potentially extend into January.
The strike will take place between 5am and 9am, noon and 3pm and 9pm to 11.59pm. The FeSMC-UGT airline sector is requesting mediation before the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA).
The union has outlined the reasons for the call. It says these are:
Lack of stable job creation and consolidation of working hours for permanent part-time staff
Imposition and coercion in the performance of complementary hours, both ordinary and voluntary, apply in some cases, with disproportionate sanctions
Repeated failure to comply with the opinions of the Joint Committee of the Sectoral Agreement on guarantees and bonuses
Illegal restrictions on reinstatement after medical discharge and on the adaptation of working hours to exercise the right to family conciliation
It says: "UGT regrets having to go to these extremes and all the damages that may occur, for which the direct responsibility will be solely and exclusively the company and its reckless action with the workforce."
Jose Manuel Perez Grande, Federal Secretary of the FeSMC-UGT Air Union, has accused Azul Handling of maintaining "a strategy of precariousness and pressure on the workforce that violates basic labour rights and systematically ignores union demands."
The FeSMC-UGT Air Sector is calling for the company to retract the sanctions, adhere to the recommendations of the Joint Commission, and start a real negotiation process aimed at enhancing the working conditions for over 3,000 employees across the country.
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