BA cabin-crew strike spells Easter misery for thousands of Scots

Published on Friday 12 March 2010 21:57

SCOTTISH families face having their Easter travel plans ruined after British Airways cabin crew announced seven days of strikes, some of which coincide with school holidays in several parts of the country.

The Unite union had pledged not to stage walkouts over Easter, but this covers only English holiday dates. Some Scottish schools break up a week earlier.

About 13,000 BA cabin crew will strike for three days from next Saturday and for four days from Saturday, 27 March.

The latter stoppage coincides with the start of the Easter break in Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeen and the North-east, and the Highlands and Islands.

The strike could halt BA flights linking Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen with Heathrow and Gatwick – half of whose passengers connect with flights abroad.

However, services between Edinburgh and Glasgow and London City airport will be unaffected, because they are operated by a separate part of BA.

The strikes were called after talks broke down in an increasingly bitter row over cost-cutting at the airline.

Unite also warned of further industrial action after 14 April if the dispute remains unresolved.

The union had planned to ballot its members on a new offer from BA, but this was scrapped when the company said it was no longer on the table.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh accused the union of trying to "break" the company and said his focus now was on keeping the airline flying during the strikes.

He said the two sides were "not close at all" to a deal.

In turn, Unite urged BA to "see sense" and put its offer back on the table, saying the airline's decision to withdraw it "beggared belief".

BA has drawn up contingency plans to deal with the strikes, with up to 1,000 volunteer staff ready to work as cabin crew – including hundreds of pilots. The airline will also hire 23 fully crewed planes from charter companies to help run flights from Heathrow.

It plans to operate a "substantial" number of its flights at Heathrow, and all its long-haul and about half its short-haul services at Gatwick.

The airline said it would give more details "four or five days before the strike is due to begin".

Mr Walsh said the strikes had been called despite his agreement to a Unite request for a three-week extension to the legal process to delay strikes being called.

He said: "There is absolutely no justification for the action Unite has taken. The changes we have introduced are fair and reasonable. This is about securing the future of this great business. We are not going to let Unite destroy this company."

Mr Walsh said Unite's proposals on cost savings fell "significantly short" of the savings BA had already achieved, adding: "Everybody can see this is a trade union trying to break the company."

He said the crew who stood in for the strikers would be "safe and secure"; in many cases, their training had exceeded the norm. He added: "I can assure people they will be in the hands of dedicated people."

Len McCluskey, Unite's assistant general secretary, said BA had turned down a "remarkable" offer from the union that he maintained would have given the airline everything it wanted."

The strikes follow a threatened 12-day walkout over Christmas and New Year that was called off after a court ruling over irregularities in the ballot. However, a re-staged vote last month produced a similar large majority in favour of action.