A voice from the "real world"
As an outsider with not insubstantial economics and business quals , I'd say a larger percentage of the flight deck crew on here than they would be comfortable admitting wouldn't be in aviation at all if it wasn't for Ryanair.
Im sure they are not a good to work for as some legacy carriers and other locos but i doubt they give a flying frig.
Their business models super aggressive pricing actually creates demand in many cases and it's not airline managers offering low cost seats ,cos they want to, it's the public wanting it. But as I said, ryanair can actually create demand on routes by offering the super cheap seats that people who will go anywhere if it's cheap will travel on. There's evidence of towns and areas which where previously just industrial, having their tourism massively boosted as Ryanair have started flying into their airport. Some people actually now go to Girona due to Ryanair !!!!!
I'd hazard Ryanair's management fully embrace the fact that they are a "nursery" airline for many pilots and it's likely that a consciouss decision is made that while staff turnover remains below a certain point, they would likely not go out of their way to make these people feel all warm and fuzzy. I wouldn't invest in people who are just going to get the min hours to get into a ME job and leave, it would be madness.
Long and short, it's supply and demand, if they don't have to offer better t and cs, they won't, and while there is demand elsewhere for pilots and they can get people to pay their own Type ratings, they will carry on being that airline that many just use as a stepping stone and not give two hoots about it.
Trust me folks, you could have much worse jobs, for much worse money for many many more hours. Maybe remember that before being so scathing of an organization that by its existence has some of you in work elsewhere at all.
And before some smarta**e chips in, I'm fully aware they just lifted southwests business model and ran with it.