EasyJet crew in Spain plan nine days of strikes in July

EasyJet cabin crew based in Spain have voted in favour of nine days of strike action in July.

Members of the Spanish USO union are planning three 72-hour walkouts during the peak summer season in a dispute over pay.

If it goes ahead, the industrial action would see hundreds of the airline’s staff at its bases in Palma, Barcelona and Malaga take part in the strikes.

The trio of three-day walkouts would take place from 1 July, with one staged every two weeks.

The union is demanding a 40 per cent increase in cabin crew’s basic salary packet and said it is open to talks with Britain’s biggest budget carrier.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed with this action as we have made considerable progress towards a new collective labour agreement and so would like to continue a constructive dialogue with them.

“Should the industrial action go ahead there could be some disruption to our flying programme to and from Malaga, Palma and Barcelona during the strike period but at this stage, easyJet plans to operate its full schedule and we would like to reassure customers that we will do everything possible to minimise any disruption.”

It follows Spain-based Ryanair workers who are members of the same union plus the SITCPLA union voting in favour of two three-day stoppages – 24 June to 26 June and 30 June to 2 July.

However, Ryanair has downplayed the strike, claiming that it has secured an agreement with CCOO, “Spain’s largest and most representative union”, and said it was “delivering improvements for Spanish-based cabin crew and reinforcing Ryanair’s commitment to welfare”.

The low-cost carrier claims that strikes by the “much smaller USO and SITCPLA unions are a distraction from their own failures to deliver agreements after three years of negotiations, and we believe that their strike calls will not be supported by our Spanish crews”.

It follows easyJet’s announcement that it would be cutting hundreds more flights ahead of time this summer, in a bid to reduce on-the-day cancellations.