Say Mach Number,
I read a memo from my association about T&C's at Ryanair which differ from what you claim since you would seem to belong to a small minority.
I read that over 70% of the pilots are contractors, either self employed or forced to setup their own ltd company.
The document says that these setups are often placing the pilots into an illegal status from a tax,social security and law perspective depending on which country they are based in and resident.
The 5/4 roster is only applied to old bases and all new ones have a 5/3 summer pattern which makes commuting very difficult for the majority of pilots since very few get to be based where they wish.
Some pilots don't have a base at all and are commuting across Europe during their off days at their own expense to reach the weekly assigned airport where they operate from.
Holidays only get granted during winter months.
Everyone pays for HOTAC and transport to/from recurrent training.
Salaries reduce if you upgrade to captain or change base.
There is no basic salary paid and no guarantee for a minimum wage since they only get paid by the hour flown.
There is no pension scheme nor sick pay in place.
There is no pilot representation at all and there are no negotiations when it comes to contractual issues.
It sounds very strange to hear such different things about the same outfit but I'm sure the above must be very close to reality otherwise the lazy guys at my association wouldn't have wasted their time in producing it.