As British Airways cabin crews return to the polls this week to cast their ballots the airline has announced that anyone who decides to walk out will immediately have all travel privileges revoked. They will also lose any days off that would have been earned by flying as well as their pay. BA say that the scheme which allows cabin crew and selected friends and family to fly at a ninety percent discount with the airline when seats are available is a perk and is not written into the employment contract. They say that they are therefore well within their rights to remove such privileges. Cabin crew who have been with the airline for more than five years also traditionally receive a set of free tickets to anywhere they choose to go on the BA network. This will not be the case for anyone who walks out.
BA has also said that they are willing to offer training to anyone within the airline who wishes to make themselves available for cabin crew duty in the event of industrial action. Last week Unite made the concession that if its members voted to strike they would not do it over the Easter holidays so as not to disrupt family plans to get away. British Airways were not overly impressed saying that the move would be of little comfort to those who planned to travel at other times. Unite have said that the latest threat to its members was petty and that the only way to resolve the problems between BA and its cabin crew was to sit around the table and thrash out a deal.
