A row over employment contracts will see cabin crew union Unite take its case to the High Court against airline giant British Airways before the new contracts are rolled out to employees on November 16th. Unite say that the new contracts will affect pay as well as terms and conditions for cabin crew at a time when the airline is also trying to cut costs as well as staff. British Airways say that they are implementing the changes so that they can respond to a number of requests for voluntary redundancy as well as requests by staff to go part-time. They say that the new contracts are being produced after nearly a year of negotiations with the trade union.
Steve Turner, Unites national officer says that there has been an enormous amount of support for a strike that if it goes ahead could see more than 13,000 cabin crew staff walk out on December 21st. The action would be devastating to an airline already hit by heavy financial losses because of the ongoing global economic downturn. Turner points out that the first walk out by cabin crew in twenty years is not as a result of demands but merely as a measure aimed at preventing British Airways placing unacceptable impositions on its staff. Turner also warned that the action could spread to involve BA transfer and check-in staff.
British Airways are defending their moves by saying that the new contracts will not affect cabin crew pay but actually increase their benefits. BA maintains that its cabin crew is still the best paid in the country.
