BA cabin crew vote for strike action
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Monday, 14, Dec 2009 05:39
By Sarah Garrod.
British Airways (BA) cabin crew have voted for strike action, the union Unite has announced today.
The results of the ballot mean crew will strike from December 22nd to January 2nd, although the union is hoping to resolve the issue.
Unite members of BA's cabin crew voted nine to one for strike action. Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite, said: "The result of the ballot was over an 80 per cent turnout with a 92 per cent vote for strike action
"We are hoping to resolve this.
"But workers need to be treated with more dignity and respect.
"We will wait ready to meet [BA] anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day to try and see if we can resolve the dispute."
The action could severely affect many passengers' Christmas holiday plans, with the 12-day action taking place over one of the busiest times of the year for the tourism industry.
The workers will walk out as part of a dispute over job losses, a pay freeze and changes to working practice. The airline has urgently reduced costs in recent months, in a bid to survive amid harsh economic conditions.
Chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said following the announcement: "Strike action is completely unjustified.
"It's no secret that British Airways is in financial difficulty. Like other global airlines, we have been hit extremely hard by the slump in business travel brought on by the world recession.
"We lost £400m last year and will lose at least as much this year. These are the worst financial results in our history. Our revenue is down £1 billion, so reducing costs is absolutely essential even to begin heading back toward profitability and long-term survival.
"Many of my colleagues understand this. Our pilots have agreed a pay cut. Our engineers have agreed more efficient ways of working. A third of our managers have accepted voluntary redundancy. And nearly 7,000 colleagues volunteered for salary reductions because they wanted to help this great British company in a time of need.
"But our cabin crew union has refused to engage in this process seriously.
"My admiration for the professionalism and skills of British Airways cabin crew is second to none. They are an absolutely vital part of our airline, and a great asset. But they have been disgracefully misled by Unite as to how our company-wide cost reduction programme would affect them."
In a separate announcement today the airline said its pension deficit had reached £3.7 billion. BA posted a pre-tax loss of £401 million last year and is on course to lose around £600 million this year.