Saturday, March 13, 2010
LOSS-MAKING British Airways flew into more turbulence yesterday after news that cabin crew will strike for seven days later this month in the run-up to the Easter holidays in a bitter pay dispute.
The news could spell misery for millions of BA travellers with the prospect of more industrial action next month if the long-running dispute over pay and working conditions is not resolved.
Unite, Britain’s biggest union, said in a statement that staff would spread the stoppages between March 20 and March 30 and warned that further walkouts may occur in mid-April after Easter.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for BA and Unite to find a way of preventing strike action, which he argued would spark travel mayhem and hinder the economy’s tentative recovery from a record-length recession.
The proposed industrial action could also prove embarrassing for Brown ahead of a general election which is widely expected on May 6.
"I call on all parties to work together to avoid these strikes," Brown said at a joint press conference held for the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"The disruption to services is completely unacceptable.
"This will place passengers who have already booked their flights, or are planning flights, in a very difficult position."
He added: "It is essential that the parties continue to talk now, even at this eleventh hour, and I hope that they will do so, but I remind them of the danger and risks to the British economy of the disruptive strikes going ahead."
BA, which is slashing costs to save cash, had already won a legal battle in December to prevent a 12-day walkout by cabin crew over Christmas and New Year after a judge ruled that a staff ballot was invalid.
"Strikes are planned for March 20, 21 and 22 and further on March 27, 28, 29 and 30," senior Unite official Len McCluskey added in a statement yesterday.
"There will be no strikes over the Easter period, as we already promised, but further industrial action will be called to take place after April 14 if the dispute has not been resolved," added McCluskey.
BA slammed Unite’s announcement which it said would cause massive disruption to travellers in the run-up to Easter, which takes place at the start of April.
"British Airways is extremely disappointed that Unite has announced plans for massive disruption for hundreds of thousands of our customers in the run-up to the Easter holidays," BA said in a separate statement.
"Unite’s action has no shred of justification," added the carrier, which is meanwhile attempting to merge with Spanish rival Iberia to save money.
Unite is protesting at BA’s imposed contractual changes that include fewer cabin crew on flights, a pay freeze and different working conditions for new members of staff.
"British Airways is facing two years of record financial losses," BA continued.
"Unlike other businesses, we have avoided compulsory redundancies and made changes designed to secure a long-term future for our company and our staff," the statement said.
A BA spokesman said that a revised flights timetable would be announced prior to the strikes, and stressed that the company would be "available" for fresh talks with the Unite union at "any time".
Last month, struggling BA forecast a record loss in its current financial year owing to weak demand for air travel and despite sharp cost cutting.
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