BA seeks arbitration to avert strikes
LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways on Monday asked for arbitration aimed at averting strikes by cabin crew which would halt operations at Europe's third-largest airline beginning next week.
A deal to address BA's pension deficit and approve new working conditions, which seemed close two weeks ago, crumbled on Sunday when the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) announced plans for a three-day walkout from January 29 and the possibility of two more.
British Airways shares were down 1.7 percent at 535-1/4 pence versus the FTSE 100 index which was up 0.47 percent as of 10:33 a.m. British Time.
Chief Executive Willie Walsh urged the union to negotiate rather than strike.
"A strike would be completely unnecessary and unjustified," Walsh said in an e-mailed news release on Monday. "I am convinced we can settle the issues at the centre of this dispute through sensible discussion and negotiation."
The airline said it had asked the publicly funded, independent ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to help.
Among unresolved issues are differences over the airline's sick-leave policy and its pay scales.
The airline says cabin crew were taking an average of 22 sick days a year before a new absence policy was introduced in October 2005 which has lowered the figure to 12 days.
BA says the union also wants the airline to combine its two cabin-crew pay scales, the newer of which was agreed to by the union a decade ago. The move would cost BA up to 19 million pounds a year, a spokeswoman said.
"Unfortunately because of the nature of the demands put forward by the T&G cabin crew union in recent days, we have not yet been able to find a solution or engage in the kind of positive dialogue we have achieved with other groups of employees," Walsh said.
T&G Deputy General Secretary Jack Dromey said the union was open to talks, but the two sides needed to resolve some "immediate and very difficult issues" including "unfair sickness management procedures".
"In the next 48 to 72 hours, we need a settlement," Dromey told BBC Radio 4. "We will negotiate night and day."
Last week, the union said 96 percent of the cabin crew it represents had voted in favour of strike action. T&G members include 10,500 cabin crew out of a total of about 14,000 at BA.
The airline says it will make a one-time contribution of 800 million pounds into its pension fund in return for changes to benefits as part of a plan to lower its 2.1 billion pound pension-fund deficit to 900 million pounds.
BA said it will allow passengers booked to fly between January 29 and February 16 to change their travel plans.
T&G statement on cabin crew strikes
22 Jan 2007
British Airways cabin crew are to hold a three-day strike from the 29th to the 31st of January following the break down of negotiations over a range of industrial relations difficulties with the company.
The strike follows an overwhelming 96.1% vote for industrial action (on an 80 per cent turnout) in a ballot of the more than 11,000 cabin crew, the result of which was announced last week.
The strike, to run from 00.01 on Monday January 29th to 23.59 on Wednesday January 31, will almost totally disrupt BA services. Further three-day strikes will be held on the same three days in the two subsequent weeks if the dispute is not resolved.
T&G deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said today: "BA management have simply failed to engage with the union in negotiations on our compromise proposals, and appear unwilling to listen to this loyal, professional and hard-working group of employees. Indeed, managers have preferred to provoke.
"Our members are fed up with being bullied into coming to work when sick and with the divisions caused by poverty-level new-entrant pay scales. They see customer care being cut and the airline's reputation damaged by bungling management.
"BA now has seven days to take their responsibilities seriously and work with the union to avert disruption to services and inconvenience to passengers. We are ready to resume talking at any time."
Feel free to make up your own mind what is going on. I hope that it won't affect my own travel plans, I fly BA on 3rd March, but I fully back the cabin crew in their fight for justice.
Labels: Bullying, intimidation, work
