BRITISH AIRWAYS cabin crew are to go on strike next week, from 20 March, the Unite union announced today (Friday).
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As many as 12,000 flight attendants will walk out for three days and then follow up with another strike, this time of four days, beginning a week later, on 27 March.
With the end of the first stoppage coming just a few days before the start of the next, BA will find it hard to run anything like a full service for about two weeks and there could be more disruption to come later.
“There will be no strikes over the Easter period, as we already promised, ” said Len McCluskey of Unite.
“But further industrial action will be called to take place after April 14 if the dispute has not been resolved.”
The strike was called after talks between Unite and BA broke down, the company unwilling both to relent on its aggressive plans to cut staff and to accept an alternative cost-cutting proposal from the union.
BA has been preparing for the strike since last year when a court ruled Unite couldn’t take strike action over the Christmas period and has recruited 1,000 temporary flight attendants in a bid to keep at least some planes in the air during late March.
As well as cuts in cabin crew numbers, the dispute has been fuelled by BA’s plans to force a pay freeze in 2010 and bring in part-time work for 3,000 staff.
BA have offered a small reduction in the staff-cutting programme and flight attendants get the chance to vote on it in the next few days.
Given the overwhelming vote in favour of strike action last time around, most observers think it unlikely, but if they accept, the strikes are off.
