Unite has confirmed that five days of industrial action will begin on Monday (May 24), after its court appeal to overturn an injunction was upheld yesterday.
In a statement released yesterday, Unite’s joint general secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley said: “British Airways management now has a chance over the next three days to address our outstanding concerns and seize the possibility for industrial peace.
“We hope it has the wisdom to do so. Failing that, cabin crew will once more be taking industrial action with our full support.”
Unite has also threatened a further two five-day strikes, starting May 30 and June 5, should its dispute with BA’s management remain unresolved.
As flagged up on our forum, BA’s CEO Willie Walsh responded to yesterday’s court ruling to overturn a last minute injunction barring further strikes, by releasing a video onto the internet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUbgbMCgsoY&
In it Walsh confirmed that the airline would operate a full schedule from London Gatwick and London City Airport. From London Heathrow, BA expects to run 60 per cent of its long haul services, and 50 per cent of short haul flights.
The strike will come as another blow to BA, which today reported a record pre-tax loss of £531 million for the year ending March 31.
For more information visit ba.com, unitetheunion.com.
Report by Andrew Gough
