Trade union responses to precarious employment: the role of power resources in defending precarious flight attendants at Ryanair

Drawing on a case study on the civil airline industry in Portugal, this article addresses the impact of precarious employment on trade union action and examines the conditions under which trade unions defend precarious workers’ interests. Using a power-resource theoretical framework, findings in this article highlight that cost-cutting employment practices are used strategically by employers to curb collectivisation and trade unionism. In addition, this article shows that when trade unions engage in an inclusive strategy to defend precarious workers’ interests, the compounded and inter-linked effect of trade union power resources, network embeddedness and international solidarity may be key to achieving success.