Ryanair faces 1-day strike in 5 countries over contracts

Ryanair faces a 1-day walkout by cabin crew across 5 countries Sept 28 as unions step up pressure on the airline to accept local contracts. The threatened strike in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain is aimed at pressuring shareholders set to meet Sept 20 to address Ryanair's labour agreements, union officials said Thursday. They said unions would strike once a month until their demands are met. "It is time the company accepted to employ us with local contracts under local conditions in accordance with local law," a spokesman for the CNE union in Belgium said. "We need shareholders to change Ryanair's employment model," he said, and called for European political mediation. Belgian unions forecast most flights out of Ryanair's 2 airports in Belgium will be canceled. <br/>