Posts Tagged ‘Unite’

Sixt offers penalty free car hire cancellations ahead of BAA strike

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

One of Europe’s most popular car hire firms has decided to offer its customers the chance to cancel their rental reservations free of charge if they find themselves affected by a possible strike by airport workers. Unite, the airport workers’ union, last week said that members would be rejecting a 1 per cent pay rise offered by BAA.

If a strike goes ahead, potentially as early as next week, Sixt customers at Heathrow, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen could find themselves no longer requiring a rental vehicle. Sixt said it realised that a strike by airport workers was totally out of the control of its customers.

Sixt therefore wants to offer the security of being able to book a vehicle in the knowledge that the booking can be cancelled at any time if that customer is affected by industrial action.

The news that a strike may go ahead will be a further blow to travellers who have already experienced a year of disruption. First there was the travel chaos caused by some of the worst winter weather in decades. Then came the ash cloud over Europe which cost airlines and estimated £1.2 billion; and then there was 22 days worth of disruption because of strikes by British Airways’ cabin crew.

The ballot not to accept BAA’s offer was won by a 3 to 1 margin and Unite is now urging members to strike. If a walkout goes ahead it would mean that many essential airport workers would not be at their posts including security guards and fire fighters.

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British Airways to revoke striker’s flying privileges

Monday, January 25th, 2010

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.

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British Airways passengers safe for the Easter holidays

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

British Airways seems to be unimpressed by the fact that Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary at the trade union Unite has said that if a strike by BA cabin crew goes ahead it will not take place during the Easter holidays. McCluskey announced that the union wanted to avoid dates when families were most likely to be travelling together so they would be able to book their holidays with confidence. A spokesman for BA has said that he doubts such a promise will be of much comfort for all those who need to travel on dates not included in the Easter holiday calendar.

If members of BA’s 12,000 cabin crew decide to strike then they will be legally allowed to do so at some point after March 1st. This will of course depend on whether or not Unite have ironed out the creases in their balloting system which wrecked the chance of a walkout over Christmas. The High Court ruled the strike planned for the festive season unlawful because some of the ballots cast in favour of strike action were by employees who had already taken the voluntary redundancy packages offered to them. This irregularity meant that millions of BA passengers avoided the consequences of a twelve-day walk out over the holidays.

Unite is continuing to argue with Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive about staff cuts and pay reductions. Walsh has announced that BA will be offering training to all staff who wish to take the place of members of the airline’s cabin crew should they choose to walk out.

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British Airways cabin crew row continues

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

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.

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