Unite union begin first of three five-day strikes on British Airways (Image: DailyMail)
Nearly 12, 000 cabin crew workers at British Airways walked off the job Monday and began one of three scheduled five-day strike. Members of the Unite union are angry over BA’s plans to fire some workers and in the process slash wages.
Due to the lack of manpower, British Airways is canceling some flights, which regularly carry anywhere from 20-25,000 people per day. The grounding of these planes will chop BA’s long-haul service by up to 40 percent from London’s Heathrow Airport.
British Airways chief Willie Walsh and the Unite union met briefly over the weekend for a possible last minute agreement, but with months and months of heated arguments and failed attempts to come to a truce, it did not look likely that something would occur at the 11th hour.
A major sticking point in the talks is the reinstatement of the the travel benefits, which British Airways snatched away from workers tht striked back in March. Tony Woodley, the union’s leader, said he would call off the strike if the BA gave back the benefits, which include free and deeply discounted travel, for certain members.
The next round of strikes occur May 30 and June 7 unless both sides can come to an agreement. The aforementioned March strikes cost British Airways $62 million, which helped contribute to British Airways’ worse loss in 23 years.
In the meantime, British Airways will help customers find new flights on 53 alternate airlines like Emirates, Iberia and American.
Source: Bloomberg
