Leadership

Brown, transport secretary back BA over strike

15.03.2010
BA’s management has won the support of the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and transport secretary Lord Adonis in its dispute with cabin crew which has led to the announcement of two sets of strikes later this month.

The Unite trade union announced last week that BA cabin crew would be going on strike for a total of seven days later this month over a dispute concerning staffing levels and pay.

However, UK transport secretary Lord Adonis said the strike action was “totally unjustified” and urged cabin crew to put the public and the company first and call the industrial action off.

He also said the impact of the strikes would not only be deeply damaging to passengers but would also threaten the very existence of BA.

Unite reject Adonis comments
However, Unite rejected Lord Adonis’ comments, saying he appeared to be “badly informed”.

“We all want to avoid strike action and Unite is always ready to negotiate. Unite was preparing to put BA's offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes. However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation,” a Unite spokesperson said.

“Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table. Should they do so, there is still a possibility of peace. If Lord Adonis is not prepared to speak out, he risks being seen as taking the part of a bullying and intransigent management.”

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also weighed in on the BA dispute this morning, telling BBC Radio’s Women’s Hour that the strike was "at the wrong time, unjustified and deplorable”.

Strikes are planned for a total of two batches of seven days which will cover two weekends this month - on 20, 21 and 22 March and again on 27, 28, 29 and 30 March.

Passengers booked to fly with BA on the strike days are set to find out later today which flights are being cancelled when the carrier publishes its revised schedule for the next two weekends later today.

BA acts on strike notice
BA has said that if the strike does go ahead it will do all it can to protect customers’ travel plans.

“We plan to operate all British Airways’ flights from London City airport, including long-haul services to New York. From Gatwick, we plan to operate all long-haul services and about 50pc of short-haul. From Heathrow, we plan to operate a substantial part of our long-haul and short-haul schedule,” the carrier said in a statement last week.

It also added that it was in the process of obtaining seats on flights operated by other carriers to enable thousands of customers to fly to their chosen destinations.