Matteo Pizzolato worked in Prague as a cabin crew member for the Ryanair airline, namely for its Polish subsidiary based in Warsaw. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted his work, severely affecting the aviation industry and halting nearly all scheduled flights. In 2020, the employer informed Pizzolato and his colleagues about work obstacles and offered them compensation amounting to 60% of their average earnings. Some employees were laid off and those who remained were informed that their wages would be reduced by 10%. “We never expected the pandemic to be easy for businesses and the aviation sector,” Pizzolato reflects, “but that doesn’t mean the employer couldn’t have treated us with respect. Any changes to our work were communicated without consultation and with very short notice, whether it was about reducing working hours, terminations, or contract modifications. We felt abandoned. Moreover, the company had been treating us this way long before the pandemic, leaving us demotivated and feeling neglected.”
As a result, the workers decided to form a union. With no prior experience, they sought support and found it in the Czech Transport Union (Odborový svaz dopravy, OSD). “In May 2020, our lawyer met with Matteo, two of his colleagues, and a female colleague at the OSD headquarters. They came to us after approaching other institutions but could not find support and didn’t know where to turn. After initially reviewing the documents they received from their employer, it was clear that our assistance was needed, and we would do everything possible to help them,” says Luboš Pomajbík, the president of OSD.
Setting up trade union company organization
Matteo Pizzolato and his colleagues had been considering forming a union for several months before the pandemic. “We had enough,” he says. Interestingly, neither he nor his colleagues had any experience with union activities. “We shared the need to be heard and it all started as a grassroots movement. Some people found external resources that helped us better understand organizing of workers. Others took on leadership roles or expanded our network within the workforce.” The newly established a union, with Pizzolato elected as its chairman, approached the employer, expressing a desire to engage in social dialogue regarding the employer’s planned actions. “We wanted to meet to start a conversation. We were seeking security. However, the employer quickly dismissed the possibility of discussion,” the union leader continues.
The day after the employer learned about the formation of the union, Pizzolato received a termination notice due to his alleged redundancy. The employer claimed that more than a month earlier, they had decided on an organizational change that supposedly rendered Pizzolato redundant. The same approach was taken with two of his colleagues in the union committee, who, however, were not directly employed by Ryanair but by its contracted agency. The treatment was consistent for all known union members. The employer never initiated any social dialogue with the union and denied its existence within the company. Similarly, after the termination notice was delivered, Ryanair completely ceased to communicate with Pizzolato, failing to pay him compensation for the notice period or severance pay, putting him in a precarious financial situation.
Seeking legal assistance
The dismissed union members sought legal assistance, which was provided by the Czech Transport Union (OSD) together with the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS). Our lawyer, Tomáš Palla, proposed filing a lawsuit against the employer. He successfully represented Matteo and his mentioned colleagues in court. The disputes involving the colleagues were resolved with final decisions within a few months, as the agency did not contest the lawsuits. However, Ryanair hired a prestigious law firm and tried to convince the court that it was unaware of the union’s existence within the company, and therefore the termination could not have been a response to the union’s formation.
What initially appeared to be a clear case of unlawful termination eventually turned into a protracted legal battle, with numerous foreign witnesses being called and a large volume of documents needing translation, significantly expanding the court file. Pizzolato emphasizes how invaluable the assistance of the union lawyers was: “Their support gave us strength when we faced an employer who built a wall against us. A huge wall. The company retaliated against union representatives – it stopped paying overdue wages, returned every letter we sent them, refused to communicate with us… Their strategy was threefold: suppress any employee claims; call for government aid and complain about the system’s unfairness; continue investing in the business. Cuts in personnel costs were ‘reinvested’ in purchasing new aircraft, opening new bases and routes, and making other attractive promises to shareholders at the height of the pandemic. Recruitment of new employees at lower wages continued.”
The District Court for Prague 6 ruled twice in favour of Ryanair. However, the Municipal Court in Prague overturned both lower court decisions on appeal by the plaintiff. The first time, it annulled the decision and returned the case to the district court for further proceedings, and the second time, it reversed the lower court’s decision by ruling that Pizzolato’s termination was invalid.
Victory. Final and binding
In its ruling, the appellate court stated that the defendant company had failed to prove the redundancy of the dismissed employee. The company was still hiring new employees for the same type of work that Pizzolato had been performing during the notice period. The dispute also centred on the specific nature of the work agreed upon between the parties. The appellate court explicitly stated in its judgement that the termination was a response by the employer to the information about the union’s formation and that unequal treatment of the union member by the defendant company, motivated by his involvement in establishing the union, had been proven.
The success of Matteo Pizzolato and the union has resonated internationally. Josef Maurer of the European Transport Workers’ Federation commented on the case: “We commend the recent decisions of the Czech courts regarding union activities at Ryanair’s Prague base. It is unacceptable for union activists to be stigmatized or even dismissed for their union involvement.” He also emphasized that unions are successfully organizing an increasing number of Ryanair employees: “Through a joint campaign led by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), many of our branches across Europe have successfully organized Ryanair employees and negotiated collective agreements that have significantly improved their wages and working conditions. Unions are not adversaries of employers; our goal is to ensure a sustainable future for our members employed by these companies. We admire Matteo for his courage and perseverance in standing up for his rights and the rights of his colleagues.”
The court ruling is final and binding. For Pizzolato, the outcome of the dispute represents not only financial compensation for the invalid termination but also a significant moral victory. At the time of his dismissal, he was under 30 years old and lacked extensive work experience. Like many of his colleagues, he was a foreigner in a country whose language he did not speak and whose legal system he was unfamiliar with. During the pandemic crisis and general societal uncertainty, instead of offering support, his employer attempted to trample on workers’ rights. It was therefore natural for Matteo and his colleagues to seek help from the unions. With their assistance, he ultimately succeeded in the legal battle against a multinational corporation with virtually unlimited financial resources. Pizzolato’s case should serve as an inspiration to all employees.
Today, Matteo works in a completely different industry. However, his experience with an unfair employer and union activity was a crucial milestone in his life and that of his colleagues: “Even though our work lives have taken us in different directions out of necessity, our ideals have never died. We remain in contact – with each other and also with the unions, the confederation, and international labour organizations. Even now, former colleagues ask me about the latest developments in our legal case and union activities.”