A few months ago Ryanair raised her salary to her employees in Spain. Now he is claiming that they return it

Collective bargaining is a delicate issue in which it is not always easy to satisfy all the parties involved and stay within the legislation. The last example is the negotiation of the I Collective Agreement for Ryanair cabin crew, which brought salary increases Immediate to these workers, but that resulted in their cancellation by the National Court. According to The published by El Confidencial, Now Ryanair asks his workers to return those increases.

However, such and as they denounce From the air-sectors union, the airline has imposed a condition for workers not to have to return these salary ups: join CCOO.

The beginning of the mess: a unilateral collective agreement. In October 2022, the Irish airline and the CCOO union signed the I Collective Agreement for cabin crew. As collected The economistThe agreement contemplated regular annual salary increases for three years until April 2025 for these employees, as well as a change in the fixed and variable remuneration structure.

The problem is that, according to the Air-Sector-Sector union, which represents 22.9% of the Ryanair template, the agreement was prepared at a negotiating table that left out the representatives of much of the staff. That caused the union to present an appeal for nullity that the National Court has confirmed canceling The validity of the agreement signed.

Ryanair applied an unsigned agreement. The regulations establish that all collective agreements They must register in the General Directorate of Labor before starting to be applied. Since the use union presented an appeal for nullity before justice, the General Directorate of Labor did not process the agreement until justice was pronounced in this regard.

However, and despite not having fulfilled that regulatory process, Ryanair applied the salary increases agreed in the agreement that signed unilaterally with CCOO from October 2024. Now, given the recognition of nullity of the National Court, Ryanair claims to his cabin crew members of the return of between 1,000 and 4,000 euros that, according to the case, according to the case, according to the case, according to the case, according to the case, according to the case of salary increase.

According to the representatives of air-sectors “the agreement” The agreement was signed without prior consultation to the workfor

Ryanair’s claim. According to sources mentioned by The confidentialand confirmed For the air user, the airline is sending letters to its cabin crew claiming the immediate return of the salary increase that was paid between October 2024 and April 2025.

In its letter, the company offers to recognize the debt and claims to be “willing to offer you a payment plan in 12 monthly installments, with deductions that will begin on the payroll of June”. The amount varies according to each case, but moves between 1,000 euros and more than 4,000 euros per employee, for undue salary increases.

If you join CCOO there is no debt. Another alternative proposed by the Irish company to solve the problem is to join the CCOO union, automatically cond by this salary “debt”. “To minimize the impact of the annulment of the collective agreement by use, this agreement is applicable to CCOO affiliates,” they point out from use.

In a statement signed by Lisa McCormack, Ryanair Human Resources Director, to which It has had access The confidentialthe person in charge indicated that: “If any worker is not affiliated with CCOO since the previous limited agreement ended and the collective agreement was annulled, but wishes to take advantage of this limited field agreement, you must directly contact CCOO. We have agreed with CCOO that those who are afraid can now maintain their current working conditions (…) This limited range agreement is the only feasible way to protect your salary.”

The company has chosen its union. In its statement, air-user, it qualifies as a “harassment and demolition to which Ryanair is subjecting to the cabin crew non-affiliates to CCOO to affil Organic Law on Freedom“

Raquel Bautista, head of Use-Ryanair, pointed out that the condition of “forgiving” the alleged debt to CCOO affiliates is “a master play they want to use to erase Ryanair’s union map after years of sentences won, and only stay with their trust union.”

Neither CCOO nor Ryanair have responded to Xataka’s information requests on this subject, but we will update this article if they do.

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Image | Ryanair