First a quote from the post by Sean that started this thread:
I have NEVER felt any pressure to go to work SICK or not able to fly. When I\'m sick I call sick. And all this crap about the management pressure is a serious overreaction. There is some pressure ….
O.K. Sean, here’s the problem: You state your experience as if it were sufficient to refute those who claim the contrary. However, your personal experience does not mean that those who make different claims are wrong. It means only that you are correct about your experience and, probably, about the situation in your base. (In fact it is clear that in some bases things run along in a pretty harmonious way, depending upon local management, the roster/schedule, etc, etc.).
But …. may I also remind you of the following Ryanair memo:
Over the past year over 10,000 days have been lost through absenteeism in RYANAIR, which equates to 7 un-crewed aircraft every day, all year around!!!
Your attendance record shows that you have been absent from work on X occasions during the last 12 months.
This high frequency of absence cannot be sustained, as other people within your area have to pick up additional work in your absence.
All absences in the future will be closely monitored and, I need to see a dramatic and sustained improvement in your attendance in the months ahead.
Please confirm receipt of this letter and measures you will take to eliminate further absence from work. If you have any queries on the above please do not hesitate to contact me.
(Signed by David O'Brien).
I don’t know how you interpret this memo Sean, but there are flight crew in Ryanair who interpret this as a clear warning that they should be very careful about their level of sickness. In fact there are those who have been invited by Ryanair management to outline “the measures [they] will take to eliminate further absence” and who have left the interview believing that it would be wiser to go to work than to go sick. (BTW, a typical number of days sick to receive this memo is three days or more).
I accept your entitlement to express your opinion and I accept fully that what you say applies to yourself. However, I have absolutely no doubt that cabin crew work in Ryanair when they should not do so. I know this because I have met such cabin crew. What they fear more that working when sick are the consequences of being labelled as “trouble-makers” (and because of their belief that this would threaten their continued employment).
And no, they do not make reports about this (which they should). Which brings us back to where this all started.