BA warned to back off
Willie Walsh’s slash and burn strategy could
destroy British Airways
Unite has denounced British Airways attempt to
impose significant changes on the terms and conditions of its
14,000 cabin crew employees and introduce a second tier workforce
on poorer pay and conditions.
BA's announcement in early October followed months of
prevarication. Despite multiple meetings with Unite, the leading
union in aviation, BA refused to negotiate in good faith.
Unite has said that the airline must remove the imposed changes
and resume talks or risk a serious, drawn out confrontation with
its workforce.
Steve Turner, Unite national officer for aviation, said: "This
imposition is completely unacceptable. It is a disgraceful attempt
to intimidate workers into accepting poorer contracts. This
imposition must be withdrawn. BA must step back from the
brink and get back round the table to talk.
Consultation not cuts
British Airways is now on a collision course with thousands of
cabin crew amid draconian plans to axe 1,700 jobs, impose a
two-year wage freeze and introduce a second tier workforce.
Unite national officer Steve Turner called on BA to ‘step back
from the brink’ of implementing the plan which could provoke
widespread industrial action. He said the company made no mention
of its plans despite three days of talks with Unite at arbitration
service Acas in early October.
BA wants to impose significant contractual changes on its 14,000
cabin crew employees, and introduce a second tier workforce on
poorer pay and conditions.
BA has told cabin crew that they must accept these impositions
by November 16th or leave the company. Unite has said that the
airline must remove the imposed changes and resume talks or risk a
serious, drawn out confrontation with its workforce. While Unite
accepts that times are tough for aviation generally, Unite does not
accept that BA is a company on its knees.
It is still a prestigious airline with a high reputation to
uphold not only at home, but also around the globe. Unite believes
the new contractual changes are an attempt to force staff to pay
the price for management failings with the company wringing more
and more out of fewer and fewer staff who will be paid
less.
Working hours will be extended, crew levels will be slashed,
career opportunities will disappear and new starters will be
brought in on bargain basement wages.
Unite says this will inevitably damage customer service and hit
the brand, possibly leaving it beyond repair. The company seems to
be attempting to bring the airline downmarket, and in recent months
BA management has increasingly adopted ‘no frills’ practices such
as charging up to £60 for a window or aisle seat. Many BA staff
believe the policy is misguided and have accused the company of
having an ‘identity crisis’.
Steve Turner said: "BA’s market is not low cost. It will never
compete successfully in the low cost market and it should not
aspire to be a low-cost carrier. “Many BA customers are angry
about additional charges made by low cost carriers. Customers
‘upgrading’ to BA do not expect to see add-on charges for seat
allocation, baggage check-in, meals and drinks."
Unite national officer Brian Boyd warned that the company seemed
to be uninterested in compromise. Said Brian: "Earlier this year,
Unite tabled changes amounting to £140 million in savings for the
business. These could have been banked months ago, putting
cash into the business while retaining the airline's integrity and
sustaining good industrial relations."
Unite is now calling on BA to step back from the brink and act
in good faith by removing the threat of imposed changes and get
back round the negotiating table in a genuine attempt to reach a
fair settlement. Unite says the door to talks remains open provided
the threat of imposed changes is removed. If the threat of
changes is not withdrawn then the union will have no alternative
but to seek an immediate mandate for industrial action which could
threaten the important winter and Christmas holiday period.
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