Unite spells out the reasons why BA offer was 'mission impossible'
for cabin crew
20th March 2010
As the first strike at British Airways in thirteen years gets
underway, Unite has explained the central reasons why the airline's
offer yesterday was unacceptable, causing the 72-hour strike to go
ahead.
The proposals - submitted by the airline over three days of talks -
were worse than those put forward by the airline - and suddenly
withdrawn - last week.
Described by Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary as setting
Unite 'mission impossible', the main difficulties were:
- BA's insistence that crew sign up to a four year pay deal which
will, at best, freeze real pay until 2014 - but most likely will
see a real pay cut year on year by BA. Crew had offered to cut pay
for one year and give the company a three year deal, but that has
been dismissed by BA as the airline looks to make a wider attack on
wages.
- The company's failure to commit to extending the validity of
the industrial action ballot to allow for members to be balloted on
any offer from BA. This failure could have led, in the event of a
rejection of BA's proposals by cabin crew, to a third strike ballot
in five months - and continued instability for the airline, its
customers and the wider BA workforce.
- BA's failure to address Unite's concerns about the impact on
existing crew as the airline pushes forward with its new fleet
plans, in particular how routes will be distributed between
existing and new crew in the future.
Calling once again for BA to stop waging this war against its
workforce, joint general secretary Tony Woodley said: "The
disruption that passengers will inevitably experience over the next
three days could have been spared had BA grasped that you cannot
put an offer on the table one day, take it off the next and then
come back with a worse one a few days later.
"To expect this union to recommend to its members any such proposal
shows an insecure grasp of industrial relations reality.
"Unite remains available at any time to talk to BA. We urge them to
think again about what is truly in the long-term best interests of
this great airline."
ENDS
Email to a friend
