British Airways crew agree to strike action

A section of British Airways (OTCMKTS:BAIRY) cabin crew members have voted in favour of Heathrow strike action, amid disputes over pay says Unite Union.

The Union, which is Britain and Ireland’s largest, have announced that of the 2,000 British Airways employees that were balloted within their membership, an overwhelming number voted in favour of initiating strikes at London’s Heathrow airport across the Christmas period. According to its figures, 79 percent of those that voted were in agreement with the move.

Newer Cabin crew members have been disgusted by “poverty pay levels”, and have rejected a 2 percent increase put forward by BA bosses and have agreed to go forth with the action. Of the recent cabin crew recruits, the majority are put into the mixed fleet branch, with average pay at £16,000 a year including allowances. This contrasts the £21,000 a year with bonuses that the standard BA crew are said to make, according to Unite union.

“Not surprisingly, the crew have rejected a 2 percent pay offer and on-board customer service managers are furious,” Unite stated.

“They do not have collective bargaining rights. The managers have also endured a six-year pay freeze.”

In response to the proposed strike, a spokesperson for BA stated:

“We are extremely disappointed that the union is creating uncertainty for our customers. Mixed Fleet Unite represents about 15 percent of our cabin crew. We remain focused on resolving this issue as quickly as possible without any disruption to customers.”

The spokesman continued: “We have proposed a fair and reasonable pay increase to Mixed Fleet cabin crew which is in line with that accepted by other British Airways colleagues and which will ensure their reward levels remain in line with cabin crew at our airline competitors.”

Despite the announcement no solid dates have been agreed, with Unite representatives set to meet over the upcoming days to finalise dates for the strike.