Virgin Atlantic redundancies a symptom of problems in the
wider industry say Unite
12 April 2008
Unite, the UK's largest trade union that
represents more than 4,300 cabin crew at Virgin Atlantic today said
that the decision to put more than 320 Virgin Atlantic staff ‘at
risk’ of redundancy, was a sign of the increasing competition
within the airline business.
The Virgin Atlantic staff under threat of
redundancy are in-flight Beauty Therapists and Unite is calling on
Virgin to ensure that they are offered re-training opportunities to
take up other positions in the company and not face compulsory
redundancy.
Brian Boyd, Unite National Officer for Civil
Aviation, said: “The so-called ‘Open Skies’ Agreement,
consolidation within the sector, competition from low cost carriers
and increasing fuel costs are just some of the factors which are
now putting aviation jobs at risk.
"The announcement by Virgin Atlantic is
becoming all too familiar within the industry. We will now be
seeking assurances from Virgin Atlantic that there will be no
compulsory redundancies and that they will work with us to ensure
that all Unite members whose jobs are under threat are redeployed
within the business.
"We are also concerned that the Government's
flawed plans to replace Air Passenger Duty with the Plane Tax will
increase pressure on the UK Aviation sector as a whole, and
ultimately lead to more job loses. Unite will be raising its’
concerns with government in our forthcoming submission on the
Governments proposals.”
Unite has recently been involved in Redundancy
Consultations at XL Airways, Flyglobespan, and First Choice, which
is a clear indication that the problems facing the industry
are similar and widespread.
The government’s proposal for a new plane tax
will mean that passengers will be charged every time they step on a
plane in the UK. Currently the Air Passenger Duty is applied as a
one off tax for the complete journey regardless of the number of
times you have to change planes. Unite say that this will put
further pressure on UK operators.
Unite has more than 70,000 members spread
across the UK Civil Aviation Sector, which includes some 24,000
Cabin Crew members.
- Ends -
For further information please call Catherine
Bithell in the Unite press office on 020 7 420 8909 or 07958 473
224
