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Cabin crew vote for strike action at British Airways
26 February 2010
Cabin crew members at a UK airline have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over company impositions, changes to working practices and reductions in crew numbers.
More than 80 per cent of cabin crew members employed by British Airways (BA) and represented by the ITF-affiliated union Unite, voted for industrial action in a ballot that closed on 22 February. Dates for industrial action have not yet been set.
The dispute was triggered by the imposition in November 2009 by BA of new working practices, reduced crew compliments and the tearing up of longstanding industrial agreements. Cabin crew are also concerned that a reduced crew will impact on in-flight service standards. In addition, they believe that BA's refusal to negotiate agreed changes means that the company has broken with long-standing negotiating arrangements with Unite, placing great uncertainty over future intentions as well as the relationship between the company and union. Negotiated arrangements had previously given the company significant flexibility in response to incidents such as 9/11 and the SARS outbreak.
Unite assistant general secretary Len McCluskey said: "With this overwhelming vote in the teeth of BA harassment and media misrepresentation, BA's cabin crew have made clear that the deep sense of grievance they feel about their treatment by their employer remains.”
Unite members complain of a campaign of bullying and intimidation by the company during the ballot; union representative and members have been suspended and the company threatened to remove staff travel concessions if they take industrial action. Personal and misleading information was also leaked to the media.
The website of an unknown Professional Cabin Crew Council (PCCC), which uses similar anti-union language to BA management, has been created, it is thought, as a way of undermining the strike ballot. Cabin crew members were alleged to have been emailed by the council urging them to vote “no” in the ballot for strike action.
Gabriel Mocho, ITF civil aviation section secretary, said: “We are certainly very concerned about any hint of union busting by BA and would urge the company to abandon any such approach. Should any dispute go ahead we will be urging the fullest support and practical solidarity from aviation unions across the globe”.
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