Today, Saturday 17th March 2012, members of
Liverpool Solidarity Federation accompanied John Foley in a picket at Liverpool
John Lennon Airport in support of the Ryanair Don’t Care campaign. The picket took place as part of an
international week of action to try to both draw public attention to Ryanair
Don’t Care, and to exert pressure on Ryanair and the businesses that facilitate
and benefit from their recruitment scam.
Earlier in the week we had given out leaflets in Liverpool
city centre to try to raise awareness of Ryanair’s policy of “recruitment for
termination” for young probationary cabin crew and to also draw attention to
the action today. Yesterday we also paid a visit yesterday to two key parts of the Ryanair recruitment scam – Allied Irish Bank and Daniels Silverman solicitors, both with
offices in Liverpool city centre.
Allied Irish Bank had, until recently, provided trainee
cabin crew with 3500 Euro loans which were paid to Ryanair by trainee crew so
Ryanair could provide training. Following
pressure from Ryanair Don’t Care, the bank stopped providing these loans in
2010. However, they are still chasing
terminated cabin crew for repayments, sending letters containing threats of
bankruptcy.
Daniels Silverman solicitors are also chasing terminated
cabin crew for loan repayments by sending demand letters threatening terminated
cabin crew with bankruptcy, and we visited their offices to deliver a demand
letter. A video of this day is available for
viewing on YouTube.
Today we met at Lime Street station and travelled on from
there by bus to the airport. Upon
arriving we set up the picket next to one of several entrances to the building
and began to hand out leaflets to passengers, visitors, and airport and airline
staff. We were approached at one point
by a police inspector who relayed his intention to be a hands-off presence.
Following this the police kept their distance, and eventually left the front of
the building entirely.
We decided to expand the picket to cover as many entrances
as possible, and individuals were dispatched to each door to catch entering and
exiting punters and get the leaflets into as many hands as we could. At one point we were approached by an individual
who worked for Ryanair. The individual did not take a leaflet but let us know
that she supported today’s action. Many
members of the public took leaflets and engaged us in conversation about the
purpose of the picket. The message was certainly getting across.
Later, we were approached by a group of Spanish travellers
coming through the airport. These
happened to be CNT members arriving for a holiday, and they spent some time
with us on the picket, picking up information and taking leaflets.
Towards the end of the picket, an Irish hen party passing
through the airport showed their support, taking a good amount of leaflets to
hand out on their travels and taking the opportunity to get a photo with the
famous John Foley! A photograph was also
taken in front of the Ryanair ticket desk with the Ryanair Don’t Care
banner. Hopefully the message got across
there too.
It’s been quite a successful week for Ryanair Don’t Care in
Liverpool during the international week of action. Hundreds of leaflets have been handed out,
getting the message into lots of heads.
People have been actively engaging with use throughout the week on the
subject of Ryanair’s policy of “recruitment for termination” with respect to
probationary cabin crew. Direct action
against companies involved in the scam has increased the pressure on them and
placed the demands of the Ryanair Don’t Care campaign into the hands of the
exploiters. An incidental point about this week being that it has also showed the power of direct action, with many people recognizing John and the campaign from recent actions he has undertaken.
The message is a shocking one for some, but doesn't seem to surprise most. Ryanair, and the companies who
help and benefit from their recruitment scam, must be exposed so that no more
young people are duped into debt, depression and worse. Pressure must be placed on these companies so
that they are forced to seriously consider their place in this scam. John
Foley will not rest until Ryanair stop their exploitation of young people
across Europe, and Liverpool Solidarity Federation will continue to support him – an injury to one is an injury to all.
