Unite warns 'disgraceful' British Airways of more strikes

Union accuses airline of 'trashing the brand' as dispute threatens Easter travellers
  • The Observer,
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British Airways passengers were warned last night to expect further strikes after Easter unless there is a breakthrough in the bitter row over planned cuts that sparked further industrial action this weekend.

Unite's national officer, Steve Turner, warned that renewed action is likely unless an agreement is reached quickly. The union also announced that it is seeking legal advice on BA's plans to define crew who are ill as strikers, withdrawing their travel perks as well as the concessions taken away from cabin crew who joined last weekend's walkout.

The Unite union and the airline's management clashed again yesterday over the impact of a four-day walkout, with the company insisting it was flying an increased schedule. BA said it will fly more than 75% of customers booked to travel during the four days of strike action and expects to handle more than 180,000 of the 240,000 people who had planned to travel from 27-30 March.

Disgruntled passengers at Heathrow's Terminal 5 complained about the disruption caused by the strikes, while the union complained that the way BA had treated staff was a "disgrace". Unite said it believed BA was grounding some flights so it could use pilots as cabin crew on other BA flights, a claim denied by the airline.

Len McCluskey, Unite assistant general secretary, said: "This is the great BA con trick. It's a three-card trick Paul Daniels would be proud of. BA is claiming it can function, but it is doing so by throwing away millions of pounds every day as it dumps its passengers on other carriers. Passengers who turn up expecting to fly BA, a brand they trust and have paid a premium for, will now be shipped on to carriers they've never heard of.

"And instead of fully trained professional crew, they'll be attended to by a ragbag bunch of pilots, managers and strike-breakers masquerading as crew. In its desperation to break its workforce, BA is inflicting another trashing on this brand."

A BA spokesman said: "At Heathrow we are flying our increased schedule and dozens of flights have departed, many very full with customers looking forward to their Easter holidays. The numbers of cabin crew reporting at Heathrow are at the levels we need to operate our published schedule."

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