Cabin crew strike vote may lead to Easter travel chaos

Published on Monday 28 March 2011 17:50

TRAVELLERS could face disruption during the Easter getaway after British Airways cabin crew voted to stage fresh strikes in their long-running row with the airline.

The Unite union said its members backed industrial action by 83 per cent in a turnout of 72 per cent, showing their "determination" to continue the dispute.

Of the 10,000 crew polled, 83 per cent of the 6,981 who returned valid ballot papers voted yes to strike action.

Unite said this vote - the fourth official ballot in two years - reflected the "continued resilience" among the crew.

General secretary Len McCluskey said: "This vote shows that cabin crew remain determined to win justice. We urge BA's boardroom to see this as a clear message that they must think again about how to regain the trust and confidence of a significant part of their cabin crew operation."

He added: "We continue to be in discussions with the company to find a solution to this long-running dispute."

Unite said 5,811 cabin crew voted in favour of strikes, with 1,170 against and four invalid papers.

The vote raises the prospect of strikes over Easter - a year after union members launched a wave of walkouts which cost BA tens of millions of pounds.

The union has to give seven days' notice of any walkout, meaning a strike could occur over the busy Easter holiday and the 29 April wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

BA has marketed "London getaway" packages for the royal wedding weekend, offering overseas visitors special deals on flights and accommodation.

The dispute started almost two years ago over cost-cutting - including a pay freeze and a reduction in the number of cabin crew on long-haul flights - but spread to other issues, including the removal of travel concessions from strikers, and disciplinary action against a number of Unite members.

It has been an uncertain year for air travellers, whose plans have been blighted by incidents such as the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland, and the snow and ice that closed a number of airports around the UK for extended periods.

Unite held back from naming any strike dates, holding out hopes of fresh talks to try to resolve the bitter dispute.

Mr McCluskey has met BA's new chief executive, Keith Williams, who took over from Willie Walsh following the airline's merger with Spanish carrier Iberia.

A BA spokesman said: "This is a time for co-operation, not confrontation. We began talks with Unite earlier this month, and those talks are continuing."We hope they will bring an end to this dispute, which is what the overwhelming majority of our cabin crew want." The dispute has cost BA around 150 million after Unite cabin crews walked out for a total of 22 days last year.

But the airline has successfully pursued court action twice, delaying further walkouts by forcing the union into reballoting members because it failed to correctly follow strict voting procedures.

The carrier has also incrementally increased the number of flights it operates throughout the strike periods.

Earlier this year, Unite claimed that almost three-quarters of British Airways cabin crew had witnessed or been victims of bullying.

The union's survey of almost 2,000 of its members at the airline said that a culture of bullying and intimidation had taken root in the wake of the dispute.

BA suffered a turbulent financial period in recent years - reporting two years of losses before returning to the black with a 158 million pre-tax profit in October - just three months before its merger with Iberia.