Quote: "I was Ryanair's slave"

[Squelsh]

"Ik was de slaaf van Ryanair" // "I was Ryanair's slave"
Article in Dutch, but used Babelfish for translation and tried to get rid of some unpleasant syntax.
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http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail. ... d=F13M1VFG
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Former hostess Virginie Mauguit's notebook opens: Eleven hours work, only six hours paid

CHARLEROI - a lot of people still dream at the idea of a career high in the sky, as flight attendant. But the reality is different: the Walloon Virginie Mauguit (27) tempers: "I was flight attendant at Ryanair. Nothing sparkle and glamor: I was a slave.

If someone gets fired they generally scream miljaar and crawl away ashamed in their shell. But I rang my mum: Good news, I have been fired! She was glad for me."

Virginie Mauguit (27) previous summer got its dismissal as flight attendant. "Ryanair did narcotics tests by shaving pieces of hair of staff members and testing them. They put me on the street because I protested against that, and probably also because I had stepped to the trade union. Because that is not allowed there. Did I got dismissal compensation? No, this is not how it works down there. But I was glad that they let me go. I had been playing with the idea of going away. They had pushed it too far."

Today Virginie works in a casino, but she still lives in the centre of Ryanairville Charleroi, in a grey apartment block-system which is already just as grey as the neighbourhood. "Welcome in the Ryanairblok", she tells. "Many of Ryanair's hostesses live here. Each day I see them coming home from their work and thinks I: 'the poor girls'."

Course: 1,800 euro

In April 2009 her career with 'the poor girls' started. "I had been living in Spain already a year and a half ", tells Virginie. "I gladly travel and sometimes stick around at a certain place. Then I do odd jobs, to manage income. But I already had been some months without any work. On a job site I saw an offer of Ryanair. Och, why not? Air flight attendant, sounds posh, thought I."

One thing still separated Virginie of its smoothed togs and a career above the clouds: a course of six weeks. And 1,800 euro. "If you want to be flight attendant at Ryanair, you must pay everything for that course. Fortunately my dad extended me the money."

"In hindsight, I already should 've noticed the signs. In those six weeks there already were signs of exploitation. Not only that high course fee. It were also very long days. From 8 am till 8pm: those safety regulations, the legislation, the first aid… We had to have it in our heads. The practice happened at night. Sometimes we had meeting at two o'clock in the night for training in the plane. By day the plane must fly, hé. If the plane must remain on ground for a training, it produces nothing."

No social security

"The weeks went fast, but a contract never came to talk. Not even referring to the contents of it. Upto the last legally possible day. Suddenly there was a lady of the firm Crewlink. Not Ryanair therefore, because they rent staff of another company. This way they can claim it is not their fault if there are complaints from the staff. Soit. That lady was very firm. Here are the contracts, gladly deliver them within the half hour. Misery on paper, that's what it was. But what do you do if your father has invested such an amount in you? Sign it, of course, and try make the best of it.

As from then rain the disenchantments itself. Where do you want that I start? The place of work, for example. I had applied in Spain with the idea to be based over there. No way of course: Charleroi, that is what they told me. They decide therefore where you work and after a year they can place you just as well in Dublin if they want to.

The largest problem is the lack of rights which you simply do not have as an employee. You are registered under the Irish legislation. Social security: zero. The first twenty days of sickness you are not paid. And he who works on a plane is frequently sick, believe me. Because in the morning you stand at five degrees in the rain in Belgium, two hours later at 25 degrees in Italy. And then back towards the cold.

Then there is the wage. You are only paid if the plane moves. The briefings for the departure, helping the boarding process, cleaning vomit of passengers in between two flights, seven hours wait at the airport with complaining travellers because the plane does not leave because of snow fall: all of that remains unpaid. Generally, per day, I was in eleven hours, but was only paid for six hours or so. There were months that I scarcely made 700 or 800 euro."

Pay your own uniform

"Work on Sunday, holidays, at night or in the week: that made absolutely no difference. You could supplement the family income, however, with sale of telephone pre-payment cards, drinks and scratch-lottery-tickets. This way there were also better payment notes. My best remunerations ever were 1,800 euro. Nice, but do not forget that it could be half the next month, plus I had no annual bonus and almost nothing was kept back for my pensionplan, also I did not have to count on sickness money or support after an industrial accident, I got no contribution for commuter traffic, no right to a dismissal premium, and the fact that they could send me home any given day with unpaid leave, up to five months a piece. And I also paid for my uniform myself.

During the first year they keep back a monthly amount of 30euro of your wage for that uniform. In the second year they start paying it back to you on monthly basis. So if any newcomer goes away after some months, he lost his money.

You wonder yourself why Virginie continued to work for more than two years for Ryanair, if everything was as terrible as she describes? "Because the colleagues were a great crowd and the job in itself is very nice. I looked at superb landscapes every time. Quickly having breakfast above the French Alps, it has, however, something. Or the period around Christmas: kids that look at through the window in the hope of seeing the Santa Claus with its reindeers. Thus it keeps you going. At least if you are young, because we all are young at Ryanair. And if you are for a long time in search of work.

It is for this reason that there are ten Belgians sitting in Charleroi between the three hundred staff members. The rest is Polish, Spaniards or Portugeses. People from countries where the economy is not doing all too well, working in these circumstances and for smalltime remunerations that they think are okay. But also they can only keep up for three years max."

Virginie says she is not doing this to take revenge. "I also have no regret that I have experienced this. I have survived it, I learned much. But I want that it changes. For my former colleagues, or for those who will start working there. Air flight attendant must be a top job, everywhere. Also on the airport of Brussels South."
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Via: De Standaard, FEB 13

[sean1982]

So that's what people do if they can't digest the fact they aren't very good at their job? I never knew that being a slave gets paid so good? Oh well, back to my "master"

[tolipanebas]

So that's what people do if they can't digest the fact they aren't very good at their job? I never knew that being a slave gets paid so good? Oh well, back to my "master"

I wouldn't call 800 euro net per month as basic salary (without any social security) being paid well....?

People in the industry know that at FR cabin crew are treated like shit and paid just peanuts: there's a good reason why so many Eastern European girls flock the cabins of Ryanair planes these days, you know?
Or did you really think all those Polish, Latvian or Portugese girls you see on the flights from CRL were some sort of exchange workers, with the Belgian and German cabin crew members working in the FR bases in Eastern Europe, then?

[sean1982]

So that's what people do if they can't digest the fact they aren't very good at their job? I never knew that being a slave gets paid so good? Oh well, back to my "master"

I wouldn't call 800 euro net per month being paid good....?

People in the industry know that at FR cabin crew are treated like shit and paid just peanuts: there's a good reason why so many Eastern European girls flock the cabins of Ryanair planes these days, you know?
Or did you really think all those Polish, Latvian or Bulgarian girls you see on the flights from CRL were some sort of exchange workers, with the Belgian, German or French cabin crew members working in the FR bases in Eastern Europe?

last time I checked it was more then 2500 euro nett on my bankaccount, get your fact rights!! Even "within the industry" there is a lot of bullshit.

[tolipanebas]

Even then that is still not well paid taking into account the fact that from a financial point of view you are basically as good as self-employed when it comes down to social security and pension funds...
You know, it really doesn't matter that much if you make 1200, 1800 or even 2500 euro NET for as long as you can live your life comfortably; what really matters in a pay package (other than 'can I live of it?') is how well taken care of you are, not just now, but later, when things may turn nasty: pension contribitions paid for a normal western European pension, full social security, sickleave, holiday allowances, life insurance...
You may be young and healthy today, willing to work hard and long hours and thus only focussing on the net side of your pay package, but remember you won't be young forever: who's going to take care of you after you retire and fall ill? The CPAS/OCMW? Or do you really think you can make enough savings from what you earn now to fund the odd 10 or 15 years in a retirement home, surrounded with boxes full of expensive cardiovascular medication, for instance? Think again...

[sean1982]

well I'm not going to throw my financial situation on the internet, but I am living in my own house, driving my own car and still able to save quite a lot of money at the end of the month, on top of the companies pension contribution scheme.

[tolipanebas]

That's all very nice, and it is good to see you being rewarded financially for working hard, but that is exactly the point. FR has an American mentality, which means no work, no pay, yet the net pay offered by them does not allow you to cope with such a mentality without some sort of government help at some point in future.

The day you fall ill, the day you are old, the day you retire, Ryanair's HR policy basically expects you to take care of yourself, as they do not provide all the normal financial protections that other employers (from all sectors of our industry) in Belgium do, notably through contributing to our Belgian social security system.

Now, If you're a Belgian, living in Belgium, you - as well as all those who'll depend on you later- may count yourself lucky in the way that our government will not let you down and will provide you with a minimum pension and a full social security coverage and offer access to all of our free medical services even though you've never ever paid any contributions for it, however please note that such is only possible because other people and other airlines DO pay contribitions to the Belgian system, not just for themselves, but also for people like you, working at airlines like yours.

[airazurxtror]

Nobody is forced to go and work for Ryanair;
Anyone can resign from his/her job with Ryanair if he is not satisfied or finds a better job elsewhere.
(As a matter of fact, Ryanair does not seem to be at pains to find cabin crew - or pilots).
Thanks to the Ryanair employees, like millions of others, I can travel in safety, with ponctuality and at reasonnable prices. Believe me, I appreciate and I am very grateful.
Same as I am grateful to all the others who will help if I need them : personnel in the hospitals, policemen, firemen, and a lot of people - who also work all hours, have a difficult job and nevertheless don't spit in the soup.

[tolipanebas]

I am grateful to all the others who will help if I need them : personnel in the hospitals, policemen, firemen, and a lot of people - who also work all hours, have a difficult job and nevertheless don't spit in the soup.

And all of those hardworking people all pay their income taxes and social security contributions in Belgium, thanks to which our country can make sure that we can all keep enjoying those marvelous services for basically free, isn't it? Oh wait a second, what was it about those Ryanair employees and their irish contracts again????

[airazurxtror]

Oh wait a second, what was it about those Ryanair employees and their irish contracts again????

What was it about ?
It's all about the European Union and its regulations - like it or not.

[cnc]

i can't believe it but i agree with airazurxtror, don't like your job? search an other one
those points that make FA's "slaves" are actually found at most airlines.
everyone working in the aviation industry knows the FA girls aren't having the luxury wellpaid dreamjob with lots of free days in between flights spending at some 5* hotel at the sun the general population is believed they have

[tolipanebas]

Oh wait a second, what was it about those Ryanair employees and their irish contracts again????

What was it about ?

That all those services you've enumerated above are all paid for with Belgian taxes and Belgian social security, none of which FR participates in despite running a base in CRL?

All fine for me, for as long as it doesn't expect its CRL based staff to benefit from these services then, yet sadly it does and as such Europe's biggest high fees airline counts on using all sort of public things for which it isnt paying, but then that I believe that is at the hart of of their business model?

[regi]

One of my biggest mistakes in life was that I worked for a company during 11 months, despite I knew from the first week that I would never stay there. I should have left immediately. But young people who know little about legislation and their rights are made afraid that they would lose "everything".
Secondly , young people are quite stubborn and don't ask for help,they think they can solve it themselves. Best example: this Virginie should have shown that contract to her father - who paid for that course btw.

I hope that Virginie can use her experience to get a job that gives her job satisfaction , a decent salary including the normal benefits which belong automatically to a Belgian job- which includes the rights of pension, health care, unemployment and labour union activity.

Detailed question to the personnel of Ryanair: it can not be true if Virginie states that she has to clean vomit of passengers without being paid for it ? I cannot imagine that any labour contract would stipulate that this kind of ultra humiliation is not rewarded. Without laughing: the last time that this kind of work was obligatory and not rewarded in Belgium was between 1940 and 1944 . Let us assume that Virginie did not know her contract too well, otherwise she would not have cleaned vomit in unpaid time. Right?

[Squelsh]

everyone working in the aviation industry knows the FA girls aren't having the luxury wellpaid dreamjob(..)

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Last inside comment mentioned 2500 euros net... (grain of salt?) Or: he sold alot of scratch lottery tickets; or is better paid than others in the business. or is lying ?

[tolipanebas]

I hope that Virginie can use her experience to get a job that gives her job satisfaction , a decent salary including the normal benefits which belong automatically to a Belgian job- which includes the rights of pension, health care, unemployment and labour union activity.

Even the Belgians at CRL don't work under a Belgian contract, as you've now come to learn, yet when it comes to turning to the Belgian social security in X years for whatever reason, all of them will most certainly make use of it nevertheless, and then they will all be very happy that others like you and me have been funding not only our own but also their premiums right now...

Detailed question to the personnel of Ryanair: it can not be true if Virginie states that she has to clean vomit of passengers without being paid for it ? I cannot imagine that any labour contract would stipulate that this kind of ultra humiliation is not rewarded. Without laughing: the last time that this kind of work was obligatory and not rewarded in Belgium was between 1940 and 1944 . Let us assume that Virginie did not know her contract too well, otherwise she would not have cleaned vomit in unpaid time. Right?

What do you think yourself?

[regi]

everyone working in the aviation industry knows the FA girls aren't having the luxury wellpaid dreamjob(..)

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Last inside comment mentioned 2500 euros net... (grain of salt?) Or: he sold alot of scratch lottery tickets; or is better paid than others in the business. or is lying ?

He said first that he gets this 2500 € - let us not call somebody a liar! We abstain to insult our members.
There after he says that he will not give insight in his financial situation on the internet, but he is living in his own house, driving his own car and still able to save quite a lot of money at the end of the month, on top of the companies pension contribution scheme. Well, that is enough information, isn't?

[airazurxtror]

it can not be true if Virginie states that she has to clean vomit of passengers without being paid for it ? I cannot imagine that any labour contract would stipulate that this kind of ultra humiliation is not rewarded. Without laughing: the last time that this kind of work was obligatory and not rewarded in Belgium was between 1940 and 1944 .

Cleaning is not a "kind of humiliation", but a job, and included in the pay.
There are workers whose job is, amongst other things, to clean the vomit - or even worse - of people they are in charge of.
For instance : in the hospitals and homes for aged persons. You'll be glad to have some of those people do it for you when you'll be old and incontinent.
(There are also people who clean the toilets at the airoprt - and others who empty the toilets of the aircraft - but I imagine you don't stoop so low as seeing them).

[sean1982]

everyone working in the aviation industry knows the FA girls aren't having the luxury wellpaid dreamjob(..)

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Last inside comment mentioned 2500 euros net... (grain of salt?) Or: he sold alot of scratch lottery tickets; or is better paid than others in the business. or is lying ?

Excuse me? Who are YOU to call me a liar??? Or should I go as far as too put my payslip online. You may joke about selling bloody scratchcards, but the only way i earn what i earn is because i am ambitious and hard working, which got rewarded!!

[sean1982]

Oh, and we don't clean vommit, not in paid time or unpaid time, we call the cleaners

[Squelsh]

He said first that he gets this 2500 € - let us not call somebody a liar! We abstain to insult our members.

Ok let's just call the interviewee a liar, if this can be considdered an insult BTW.. Good to see that passes and anyone mentioning his wage as if it were nothing on a public forum.. sure I trust it, no questions asked

Asked a question BTW, didnt call anyone anything... *SIGH