British Airways cabin crew set to announce new strike after vote

A NEW strike by British Airways cabin crew is expected to be announced following the result of their re-staged ballot on Monday.

The move is anticipated by the airline despite the Unite union yesterday losing a court battle to stop the cost-cutting plans which triggered the dispute among more than 13,000 staff.

The union was forced to re-run the strike ballot after an initial overwhelming vote in favour of action was ruled illegal because it included staff leaving the airline.

Unite had called a 12-day strike over Christmas and New Year which would have hit one million passengers. It has said only that any future strikes – which could start as early as 1 March – would avoid Easter, but has not specified which period that covers.

The High Court yesterday threw out Unite's attempt to overturn British Airways' plans for a pay freeze, reduction in long-haul flight crewing from 15 to 14 and more part-time working.

BA said the moves were vital to ensuring the airline's future by saving 140 million a year.

However, Unite's assistant general secretary, Len McCluskey, said the "regrettable judgment" made "absolutely no difference to the substance of our dispute".