6

Despite Irish low-cost airline Ryanair’s hostility towards all forms of worker representation and collective bargaining, it has not entirely avoided labour disputes. In 2018, the collective organisation of workers led to offensive Europe-wide strikes. Subsequently, the issues encountered by the Boeing 737 Max and the Covid-19 pandemic have slowed this movement and contributed to bringing its focus back to domestic issues. This conflict is nevertheless hugely instructive as to the predicates of the strike action’s Europeanisation and the modalities of grassroots European trade unionism, as well as its longer-term structural challenges.