British Airways cabin crew announce strike dates

Published on Friday 12 March 2010 12:30

BRITISH AIRWAYS cabin crew are to stage a series of strikes in a bitter row over cost-cutting, threatening travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, it was announced today.

Unite said its members at the airline will walk out for three days from March 20 and for four days from March 27 following the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.

But Unite also announced it will ballot its 12,000 cabin crew members on a new offer tabled at the 11th hour by the airline, giving a glimmer of hope that the strikes can be averted.

Cabin crew will vote electronically on the new offer and the result is expected next week, before the first strike is due to go ahead.

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 has also said it will hire 23 fully-crewed planes from charter companies to help run flights from Heathrow.

Flights from London's City Airport, including long-haul services to New York, would operate normally in the event of a strike, while 70% of cabin crew would work at Gatwick, meaning all long-haul and 50% of short-haul flights would be unaffected, BA has said.

No specific details were given about flights from Heathrow in the event of industrial action, but chief executive Willie Walsh said a "substantial" number of long and short-haul services would still operate.

Mr Walsh has made clear that changes, including reductions in cabin crew, would not be reversed.

A planned 12-day stoppage by 12,500 cabin crew over Christmas was halted after a successful legal challenge from BA, and the union ruled out striking over Easter.

The two sides held talks under the chairmanship of TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, which broke up without agreement on Wednesday evening, although channels of communication have remained open.

The cabin crew branch of Unite – Bassa – said yesterday it had no wish to cause disruption to BA and its customers and urged Mr Walsh to reconsider an offer tabled during this week's talks.

Bassa said the difference between the two sides' cost-saving proposals was 10 million, adding that far more than that has already been spent by BA on contingency plans for a strike.

Unite put forward a 10-page document which detailed a series of savings on pay, crew numbers, natural wastage, hotel costs and meal allowances, totalling almost 63 million.

A union source said he believed the offer was "fair, far-reaching and generous" and met BA's financial demands while giving safeguards on pay and conditions to existing crew.

It is believed that under Unite's proposal, BA would reinstate a 15th crew member on long-haul flights, something the airline has been strongly resisting.

Unite was understood to be offering a one-year pay freeze, followed by a 2.6% pay cut, then an increase in line with RPI inflation or 2.6%, whichever is higher.

A lump sum bonus worth around 7 million would be paid at the end of year three.

BA said its package would save 62.5 million a year and would not reduce the pay of existing crew.

The airline said the union's proposals fell "significantly short" of this level of savings and would lead to pay cuts of between 1,000 and 2,700 for crew, figures the union disputed.

Shadow business secretary Ken Clarke accused ministers of failing to condemn the strike because Unite was a major donor to Labour Party funds.

"There is no point in being naive. The fact is that Unite has given 11 million to Labour funds over the past four years.

"They own the Labour Party, which is why there is no condemnation of

any kind coming for a particularly irresponsible strike.

"They are totally silent because their silence has been bought."