BA cabin crew press on with strike action

British Airways cabin crew continued with a strike over cost-cutting today, leading to fresh clashes between the airline and union leaders about the impact of the industrial action.

BA said it was reinstating eight cancelled long haul flights from Heathrow and 18 short haul services from Heathrow and Gatwick this weekend after maintaining that more staff than expected had turned up for work.

The union disputed the claims and insisted that 80% of its 12,000 members had walked out yesterday at the start of a three day stoppage, and were expected to remain on strike today.

BA countered that 1,157 cabin crew ignored the strike call yesterday and reported for duty – equivalent to 97% of Gatwick and 52.5% of Heathrow staff.

Unite said that scores of BA planes were grounded, many left without few passengers on board and described the carrier’s contingency plans as a failure.

The union predicted that disruption would worsen today, but BA said Unite’s claims were “rubbish”

Striking cabin crew will gather at a football ground close to Heathrow today before taking their turn on picket lines which were mounted again at a number of entrances to the airport.

The political heat on Gordon Brown is expected to intensify today after the Conservatives released a new advert depicting the Prime Minister as a pilot, wearing a Unite cap, and bearing the message: “Gordon’s Doing Sweet BA”.

BA said it had reinstated some long-haul flights this weekend and tomorrow because more staff had worked, including services to Miami, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, JFK in New York and Cape Town.

The carrier said yesterday got off to a “good start” with its contingency plans, adding later that, because more cabin crew had turned up at Heathrow, it was moving to reinstate flights.

A BA spokeswoman said: “Cabin crew are continuing to report as normal at Gatwick and the numbers reporting at Heathrow are above the levels we needed to operate our published schedule.

In a video message on BA’s website, chief executive Willie Walsh said his contingency plans had worked “very well”.

He said: “We are doing better than we have expected. We have been able to operate every flight we planned, and indeed have been able to operate a couple of extra flights.”

Only one in four voters supports the strike, according to an opinion poll carried out in the days before the walk out.

A survey by ICM, for BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme today, found 60% believed the industrial action was “unjustified” with 25% expressing support.

Young people were the most supportive – 39% of 18-24 year olds offering their backing to 44% opposed – the poll of 1,002 adults across Britain suggested.

The research also found that more than a third (36%) believed it was “unacceptable in today’s society” for workers to have the right to walk out at all.

More than half (57%) continue to support the right to strike, it showed.