The Ryanair case in the Italian and European framework: who decides the rules of the game? WP CSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 148/2019

Calvellini, Giovanni and Frosecchi, Giulia and Tufo, Marco (2019) The Ryanair case in the Italian and European framework: who decides the rules of the game? WP CSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 148/2019. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

The present article aims at analysing the Ryanair case in the Italian and European framework from a twofold point of view: labour law and industrial relations. Firstly, the working conditions in the airline company are described. It is well known that Ryanair requires an absolute secrecy about this. However, the employment dimensions reached by the company and the increasing union conflict have brought out recently documentation and evidences which let us to have a clear view of the current labour relationships in Ryanair. The intention here is therefore to provide an overview of the Ryanair’s working conditions, verifying if the airline company adopts a strategy of limitation of employment protections directed to reduce costs and increase productivity. In the light of this, it is necessary to understand if EU transnational labour law has sufficient instruments to face law and forum shopping or if, on the contrary, the socalled ‘EU social deficit’ has affected also this sector, giving life to gaps exploited by companies to subjugate labour relationships to the most advantageous legislation and competent jurisdiction for themselves. Taking into account all of this, secondly, an overview of transnational issues (mainly concerning employment contract law, social security law and competent jurisdiction) is provided, considering also the solutions offered by the EU Institutions, so far. Thirdly, the Ryanair approach to industrial relations is addressed, in order to understand the position of the Irish company in respect of Trade Unions. Even here, the transnational nature of labour relationships in Ryanair produces important implications both making more difficult building a collective interest among workers and facilitating the escape from any kind of confrontation with Trade Unions and the rejection of the collective phenomenon itself in its multifaced dimensions by the company. Finally, some conclusions are drawn, with the aim of pointing out the importance of the Ryanair case in the European and Italian legal and industrial relations framework.

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