BA cabin crew to strike on January 10

Unite union, that represents British Airways cabin crew, announced a 48-hour walkout for later in January, in an ongoing pay dispute which saw the airline narrowly avert a Christmas Day strike.

Unite union, that represents British Airways cabin crew, announced a 48-hour walkout for later in January, in an ongoing pay dispute which saw the airline narrowly avert a Christmas Day strike.

Up to 2,700 cabin crew are due to strike from January 10 after rejecting a deal proposed by the airline in December, the union said.


Last monthโ€™s offer averted a walkout originally planned for Christmas Day and December 26 (Boxing Day), but 70 percent of Unite members involved in the dispute subsequently rejected it in a vote which ended on January 1.

The industrial action involves British Airways cabin crew who joined the airline after 2010 and work a combination of short and long-haul flights.

Unite said they earn a basic annual salary of just over ยฃ12,000 with additional earnings determined by the time spent in the air, a set-up the union said forces some staff to get second jobs.

Oliver Richardson, Unite national officer, said he hopes talks with the airline can be renewed.

โ€œUnite remains hopeful that a negotiated settlement which meets our membersโ€™ aspirations can be achieved and would urge British Airways to engage constructively in meaningful talks to address poverty pay,โ€ he said.

Those involved in the strike account for 15 per cent of British Airways cabin crew and the airline said it aimed to have all customers travel to their destinations during the walk-out.

โ€œWe are extremely disappointed that Unite has once again chosen to target our customers.

โ€œWe are now focused on protecting our customers from this unnecessary and completely unjustified action,โ€ British Airways said in a statement.

The airline did not provide detail of its offer to cabin crew, but said the proposal reflected pay by other UK companies.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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