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British Airways cabin crew have set strike dates for seven days on March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30. Unite, the union representing 12,000 BA cabin crew, announced the strike dates today after talks with the airline broke down on Wednesday night.
The union was believed to have submitted a proposal to BA that would save more than £60 million with a pay freeze followed by a pay cut but avoiding all the changes to working practices proposed by BA. BA submitted a formal offer yesterday to Unite, which will be put to members on an electronic ballot by the middle of next week, before the strike action is due to begin.
Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite said BA’s offer "falls short" of what the union wants and Unite will not be recommending it to members. He added: "We will be giving our members an opportunity to assess the offer and tell us what they think." BA was thought to have agreed to reduce the level of staffing cuts it proposed but by a smaller amount than Unite wanted.
A statement released by the airline said:
"British Airways is extremely disappointed that Unite has announced plans for massive disruption for hundreds of thousands of our customers in the run-up to the Easter holidays. "Unite’s action has no shred of justification. British Airways’ crew are rightly renowned for their professionalism and skills. Our entire package for crew recognises that and is reasonable and fair."
BA said is plans to operate all flights from London City airport, including long-haul services to New York. From Gatwick, it plans to operate all long-haul services and about 50% of short-haul. From Heathrow, it plans to operate "a substantial part" of its long-haul and short-haul schedule. The statement added: "We are also in the process of obtaining seats on flights operated by other carriers to enable thousands of customers to fly to their chosen destinations.
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