British pilots vote for strike

British Airways pilots have voted to go on strike in a row over pay and conditions, their union Balpa announced today.

Balpa, which represents around 3,000 BA pilots, said turnout in the ballot was 90%, which the union said reflected the concern of its members.

Any strike by pilots would be the first for almost 30 years and would threaten to disrupt flights over Easter.

Balpa said it supported the growth of BA and the launch of the OpenSkies service but claimed the airline intended to hire lower-paid pilots recruited from outside.

BA plans to keep their wages low even when OpenSkies becomes profitable, said Balpa, adding that pilots feared that pay and conditions for OpenSkies pilots would be used to force down their own pay and conditions.

General secretary Jim McAuslan said: “We have seen it happening around the world. BA pilots are determined not to let the same thing happen to them and to their families. That is why Balpa has drawn a line in the sand.

“BA pilots are saying loud and clear that they will not tolerate what has happened elsewhere.

“What BA pilots want is to have one pilot community for both the mainline and the OpenSkies subsidiary, with the same professional standards, equal opportunities for pilots to move from mainline to OpenSkies and from OpenSkies to mainline, fair promotion prospects and a safeguarding of BA mainline pilots’ pay and conditions by the company giving us binding agreements.”