Court ruling shames BA for cabin crew discrimination
20th January 2010
British Airways has today (Wednesday) lost its attempt to deny
justice for its female Hong Kong cabin crew, which the airline
currently sacks at 45 years of age.
The latest Employment Appeals Tribunal, supporting an earlier
decision of the Employment Tribunal in 2008, today ruled that the
airline was wrong to claim that the women's Hong Kong nationality
excluded them from UK employment law jurisdiction.
Unite the union has condemned as "disgraceful" BA’s treatment of
the Hong Kong workers, and has been leading the fight for the
airline to treat all cabin crew employees equally. The union has
urged BA not to fight the judgement and instead move swiftly to
ensure the discrimination is ended swiftly.
BA dismisses its female Hong Kong crew when they turn 45 and
denies them a pension, claiming its UK employment provisions do not
apply to this workforce. Unlike their counterparts in the UK who
retire with a pension at 60, the Hong Kong crew women are forced
out of their jobs 15 years early and with only a one-off payment of
a few thousand pounds on which to support themselves and their
families.
Unite has been fighting for BA to accept that all its employees,
wherever they may reside, should be covered by the company's
employment agreements, including retirement age and pension rights.
BA has however, shamefully contested all attempts to ensure there
is equal treatment of its cabin crew.
Commenting on today's judgement, Unite national officer for
civil aviation Steve Turner, said: "BA's treatment of these women
is disgraceful. There will be widespread revulsion that the
national carrier - which flies the globe with this country's flag
on its fin - has a policy of treating its overseas crew as second
class citizens. Not only is it a waste of a talented and dedicated
workforce to dismiss them at 45, it is immoral. This practice
reflects very badly on BA as an employer, but it also does profound
damage to Britain's reputation overseas.
"Instead of reaching for costly lawyers and hiding behind an
appeal, BA must now do the decent thing by this workforce and move
rapidly to end this discrimination."
Unite took the case to the EAT on behalf of one stewardess,
Eliza Mak, and 16 colleagues. Eliza received her dismissal letter
from BA when she turned 45, despite having worked for the airline
since 1988.
Today's ruling will mean that all those crew dismissed at 45 by
BA will be entitled to have their claims for discrimination heard
in the UK courts. It also gives confidence to BA’s overseas based
crew that justice can be found in the UK legal system. Unite says
that those under 45 should be able to look forward to a longer
career with job security, a pension on retirement and greater
respect from ‘the world’s favourite airline’ for the fantastic role
they perform.
Carol Ng, chair of the British Airways Hong Kong International
Cabin Crew Association, has been representing the claimants and a
key tribunal witness. She said today's judgement would change
lives: "The Hong Kong crew will be delighted by today's judgement,
but they will be very worried that BA will simply ignore or
challenge the tribunal's judgement.
"We urge BA now to listen to the court - stop fighting your
workers and do not waste more money denying them justice.
"BA has over 10 overseas bases but it’s only Hong Kong-based
cabin crew that are treated like this. It is wrong and so deeply
unfair of BA to throw these women on the scrapheap when they've so
much more to give - and this injustice will be made worse if BA
carries on fighting to hold onto its discriminatory practices. We
urge BA not to fight the court's judgement but to respect its
ruling that justice must now be done."
Carol Ng added: "Unite has shown our members unquestioned
support over many years in their struggle for justice. This proves
that ordinary people can fight injustices with the help of their
union - and that strong solidarity across nations can help win for
workers against employers like BA who mistreat their
workforce."
ENDS
