Wednesday, 16 December 2009

BA cabin staff approve 12-day strike starting Dec. 22

British Airways faces a Christmas crisis following yesterday's announcement that 92.5% of voting flight attendants represented by Unite are in favor of a 12-day strike beginning Dec. 22, a decision that Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey said was taken with a "heavy heart."

The airline said it is "extremely disappointed" in the vote and that a 12-day walkout is "completely unjustified and a huge overreaction to the modest changes we have announced for cabin crew. . .intended to help us recover from record financial losses." BA imposed those changes in mid-November following nine months of negotiations (ATWOnline, Oct. 27). It employs some 13,500 cabin staff.

"We have taken this decision to disrupt passengers with a heavy heart and we are hoping that the company can still avoid it happening," McCluskey said, according to The Times, which reported that 80% of eligible members participated in the balloting. "We would like passengers to be angry with the company."

In a statement, BA CEO Willie Walsh called flight attendants "an absolutely vital part of our airline" but argued that "they have been disgracefully misled by Unite as to how our company-wide cost reduction program would affect them," while urging the union to return to negotiations. "Our package involves no reduction in terms or conditions for existing crew," Walsh claimed. "In fact, despite our financial backdrop, more than 10,000 of our cabin crew will receive pay rises of between 2% and 7% this year and again next year." BA said it will not consider withdrawing its plan to cut the number of flight attendants on certain flights out of London Heathrow.

The carrier said late yesterday that it was working on a contingency plan and that customers with bookings from Dec. 20 through Jan. 4 can change to a travel date over the following 12 months or accept a refund. Between 900,000 and 1 million passengers are scheduled to fly during those dates, according to press reports.

Separately, BA announced yesterday that its pension deficit as of last March 31 had risen to £3.7 billion ($6.01 billion), comprising a £2.7 billion deficit in the New Airways Pension Scheme and £1 billion in the Airways Pension Scheme. The shortfall more than doubled during the 12 months preceding March 31. "The airline and trustees will now work together to develop a recovery plan," by the June 30, 2010, deadline, BA said (A

Source: Air Transport World

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