01 Sep 2004 -
Ryan-Be-Fair

At a time when Ryanair have announced higher than expected profits of £20 million, the memo to staff telling them it is not "acceptable" for them to charge their mobile phones from the company's electricity supply will seem to most to be petty and pointless.

One is forced to ask whether the negligible cost of charging a mobile phone (estimated to be half a penny) is really that significant given the fat cat salaries and massive bonuses Michael O'Leary and his executives feel fit to pay themselves.

"The cost may not be expensive, but every penny saved counts and all savings go back towards lowering fares for European consumers", said a Ryanair spokeswoman.

Given the Scrooge-like operations of this penny-pinching airline, this measure is hardly surprising, but we somehow doubt that the savings on their electricity bill (that will add up to literally pennies) will be passed on to consumers. Ingo Marowsky, ITF Aviation Secretary, says that this kind of behaviour is indicative of the airline's attitude towards its staff: "This is certainly not the worst thing happening at Ryanair, but it is another example of a lack of respect and a culture that always picks on the company’s workers first when any savings are to be made."

Staff already have to pay for their own training, uniforms, are not paid by the company when off sick during their probationary period, and reportedly have to buy their own food and water onboard aircraft, leading one to wonder how many more costs Ryanair can actually eliminate from their overheads.

Economising is one thing, but ridiculous measures such as this with nominal benefits for the company just serve to contribute to Ryanair's increasingly negative public image.