Spanish trade unions Sitcpla, USO and Sepla have again brought Ryanair to court and won the case for 224 concerned workers. The collective dismissal through Ryanair was judged null and void.
The case concerned collective dismissals at the Spanish bases in Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Girona. Ryanair dismissed the workers without justifying the grounds for the closure and therefore the reasons for redundancy. Ryanair did not follow national legislation on consultation before moving on the dismissals – trying to avoid the collective negotiation process they approached the crews individually and simulated a bargaining process.
The national labour court in Madrid sees “bad faith, fraud, coercion and abuse of rights by the employer.”
The Court obliges Ryanair to immediately reinstate all 224 workers. The workers will work in the same job and with the same working conditions as before the dismissal. Ryanair has to pay all outstanding wages since the date of termination. This lecture will surely hit Ryanair even harder in the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic than before.
This is yet another court decision that proves that Ryanair cannot play by their own rules. They must respect national legislation, national information and consultation obligations.