British Airways cabin crew to strike from March 20 12/03/2010 - 13:07:50
British Airways cabin crew are to stage a series of strikes in a bitter row over cost-cutting, threatening travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, it was announced today.
Unite said its members at the airline will walk out for three days from March 20 and for four days from March 27 following the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.
But Unite also announced it will ballot its 12,000 cabin crew members on a new offer tabled at the 11th hour by the airline, giving a glimmer of hope that the strikes can be averted.
Cabin crew will vote electronically on the new offer and the result is expected next week, before the first strike is due to go ahead.
BA has drawn up contingency plans to deal with the strikes, with up to 1,000 volunteer staff ready to work as cabin crew, including hundreds of pilots.
The airline has also said it will hire 23 fully-crewed planes from charter companies to help run flights from Heathrow.
Flights from London's City Airport, including long-haul services to New York, would operate normally in the event of a strike, while 70% of cabin crew would work at Gatwick, meaning all long-haul and 50% of short-haul flights would be unaffected, BA has said.
No specific details were given about flights from Heathrow in the event of industrial action, but chief executive Willie Walsh said a "substantial" number of long and short-haul services would still operate.
Mr Walsh has made clear that changes, including reductions in cabin crew, would not be reversed.
