British Airways Faces New Strike Ballot
British Airways has been warned that they, along with their passengers, face a summer of strikes. Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said at an annual meeting in Manchester that they plan to ballot the cabin crew again in the next week or so as to if they want to take industrial action after this set of strikes is over. This comes as the workers are in the middle of their second 5-day walkout during the half-term holiday, with a third walkout set for June 5.
Woodley has continued to attack Willie Walsh, British Airways’ chief executive, for not giving the staff back their travel perks. Those who went on strike in March were stripped of their perks, and this issue has become important in the dispute, with Woodley calling it the airline’s vicious determination to punish crew. However, Walsh has agreed to reinstate the perks, but only if the crew are treated as new recruits, which means they lose the seniority they have earned over years of working with the airline.
A summer full of strikes isn’t a welcome idea for the company, or its passengers. British Airways has already lost about £90 million over the course of 14 strike days - 7 days in March and 7 days since last Monday. If they continue to lose £7 million a day, this will add up to another £55 million lost for a total of £145 million over the course of the dispute.
The cabin crew are caught in a catch 22. If they cave in and let the airline do whatever they want, then the fight for what they believe in will be worth nothing. However, if they continue to strike, they are only sending the company further into the red and closer to going bankrupt, which would mean they all lose their jobs anyway. The only solution is for both sides to find a suitable compromise.
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