Inexperienced BA strike-breaker crew will not be able to respond to
passengers in emergencies, Unite warns
25th January 2010
Unite the union today (Monday) warned that British Airways'
passengers could be put at risk if strike-breaking cabin crew do
not have the experience to respond to emergency situations.
As BA begins its conversion courses for staff who work elsewhere
in the airline, Unite says public concern will grow over plans to
fast-track strike breakers as more emerges about the skills crew
need to care fully for passengers.
The warning comes as one crew member reveals that last week a
passenger on a BA long haul flight would have died were it not for
the intervention, calm actions and dedicated care of the
crew.
One crew member on that flight reported: "I'm about to collapse
after a 16 and half hour day. We had one of the most serious
medical incidents I have ever seen. A lady collapsed in the aisle,
full plane. After 30 mins she fitted and died. We did CPR, defib
(no shock advised) PA'd for a Doctor - amazingly a heart surgeon
came forward. Stabbed adrenaline into the heart. After around 20
minutess he advised us to stop, ''She's dead'' he said. We
replied that we have to continue for 30 minutess. Four minutes
later we got a pulse! We supported her for an hour, breathing for
her until she was passed to medics on the ground and is now in a
hospital. As far as I know she is alive, but very seriously
ill.
"Even though the doctor gave up, we didn't; look at the
outcome. Imagine if strike-breakers were there today? I
am sure we would have lost a fellow human being. These are the
things we and the public should be worried about. It will cost
lives."
Praising the actions of the crew, Len McCluskey, Unite assistant
general secretary, said: "Cabin crew's dedication and skill kept a
person alive when others had given up hope. BA should have
nothing but praise for its loyal and dedicated cabin crew whose
first and last instinct is to care for passengers.
"Instead, BA resorts to intimidating them with macho threats to
replace crew with vastly inexperienced volunteers. Not only
does this show contempt for the crew, what message does it send to
passengers who have paid to be cared for by a premier airline?
"Airlines are run by teams, but this cynical ploy will destroy
industrial relations at the company for years to come and trash
this airline's brand along the way."
Unite says that at the very minimum, BA cabin crew are trained
to:
- Deliver babies
- Administer CPR
- Administer Epipen injections to people who go into anaphylactic
shock
- Operate the Defibrilator for people who have suffered cardiac
arrest
- Take command of a life raft in a ditching scenario
- Deploy survival techniques
- Fire fight
- In search techniques when bomb threats are received
- In restraint techniques for disruptive passengers
- In Pilot incapacitation i.e how to deal with a pilot who
becomes unconscious.
Experienced crew have three months training. The union fears
that BA's 21-day training programme for strike-breakers may not
result in a confident, professional crew and will not support the
team working a successful crew is built upon.
Unite has condemned BA's increasingly aggressive recruitment
operation as an attempt to intimidate cabin crew out of taking
industrial action to defend their jobs and conditions. The
ballot for industrial action opens today and will close on February
22nd.
ENDS
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