British Airways Cabin Crew to Stage Two-Week Strike This Summer

by Telegraph Reporters, The Telegraph, June 16, 2017

British Airways cabin crew are to stage a two-week strike in a long-running dispute over pay and travel concessions.

Members of Unite in the so-called mixed fleet will walk out from 00:01 on Saturday July 1 to 23:59 on Sunday July 16.

The union also announced it would "vigorously" pursue legal action against the airline on behalf of 1,400 cabin crew, who say they were "sanctioned" for taking previous strike action.

The union accused BA of drawing up a "blacklist" to impose sanctions on striking cabin crew, including cutting bonus payments and removing staff travel concessions.

Last week, Unite suspended a planned four-day strike due to start on Friday in a bid to resolve the dispute through fresh talks.

The union accused BA of failing to send its key decision makers to the talks at the conciliation service Acas and set a deadline of 12 noon on Friday for acceptance of its "final compromise position".

Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: "The refusal by British Airways bosses to meaningfully consider our compromise offer is deeply disappointing.

"A resolution to this long running dispute was within the grasp of British Airways, but instead of grabbing that opportunity, bosses rebuffed it.

"It now means British Airways faces an entirely avoidable two week strike and prolonged legal action on behalf of over 1,400 mixed cabin crew.

"Unite believes the divisive way British Airways has targeted striking members of cabin crew is unlawful and amounts to blacklisting.

"The airline should be under no illusion of Unite's intent to pursue justice on behalf of its members all the way to the highest court in the land. We would urge British Airways' bosses to come to their senses and think again."

There has been a total of 26 days of strike action since the beginning of January.

A BA spokesman said: "As for previous periods when Unite called strikes of mixed fleet cabin crew, we will fly all our customers to their destinations.

"This proposed strike action is extreme and completely unnecessary. We had reached a deal on pay, which Unite agreed was acceptable.

"Unite has already confirmed it is pursuing the non-pay issues in this dispute through the courts. We urge Unite to let its members vote on the pay proposals."

 

This article was written by Telegraph Reporters from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].