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BA cabin crew to strike

Published: 12/03/2010 - Filed under: News »

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The threat of industrial action by British Airways’ cabin crew has become a reality at last, with staff set to strike later this month.

In an announcement made today (March 12), Unite confirmed a three-day strike would begin from March 20, plus a further four days from March 27.

In a press conference today, Len McCluskey, Unite’s assistant general secretary, said cabin crew had been “pushed into a position that was inevitable” by BA’s management.

McCluskey did add that he hoped BA would come in “even at this last stage” with a revised offer, hinting that strike action could still be averted.

BA has yet to release a response to the announcement, and confirm exact details of how it will deal with the affects of the strike.

BA has been preparing various contingency measures since the threat of strike action first appeared, such as non-cabin crew staff trained to do the job, and aircraft leased from other airlines.

BA’s CEO Willie Walsh hinted at a number of wet leasing agreements with chartered European airlines, where their aircraft, and crew, will operate as BA services.

Despite last minutes attempts to avert strike action from both sides, neither Unite nor BA management could agree on the terms of an effective cost cutting package.

The feud, which erupted in November, centres around proposed cuts in crew numbers across BA’s fleet and other airline restructuring.

Unite submitted its own savings package earlier this week in the hope of meeting BA’s savings target of at least £62 million, but its attempt was rejected.

For more information visit ba.com, unitetheunion.com.

Report by Andrew Gough

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COMMENTS » 

JohnH777 - 19/03/2010 10:36

BA new F only LHR/JFK? Does anyone know the roll out time scale for the enw product?

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