BA union set to announce strikes

The union representing British Airways cabin crew plans to announce strike dates later this morning, the BBC understands.

Unite has to give at least seven days' notice of any action, meaning strikes could start from Friday 19 March.

The union has pledged not to strike over Easter in the dispute over pay and staffing levels.

The announcement will come at a press conference at 1100 GMT. BA said it was "available for talks at any time".

The airline is also in discussion with baggage handling staff at Heathrow about potential changes to improve how the handlers work.

But a spokesperson for BA said any talk of strike action involving them would be "extremely speculative and premature".

BA cabin crew voted strongly in favour of strike action last month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8563728.stm

-- BBC 12-03-2010

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Start 27th March.

Great! I am due to leave tonight on BA and return on the 20th. If I have any problems it will be the last BA flight I take. Should have stuck with Thai perhaps, but wanted to see the difference. Don't the BA staff realise that there are many many of their country-folk without ANY job. They should be grateful for what they have, surely?

Don't the BA staff realise that there are many many of their country-folk without ANY job. They should be grateful for what they have, surely?

They already earn a lot more than employees of other airlines but it's not nearly enough for them.

There are elements within this powerful union which would appear to want to destroy the airline. When they had their vote for a strike before Christmas last year some of the members gave media interviews saying they had no idea a two week strike would be called (the time scale of the strike wasn't voted on) and was kept a secret from the members until after the vote. It looked to me like an attempt to breakup British Airways rather than a legitimate strike action.

I don't use BA anyway.

Start 27th March.

The second strike starts on the 27th for four days. The first strike starts on the 20th for three days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8563728.stm

Korat88,

Great! I am due to leave tonight on BA and return on the 20th. If I have any problems it will be the last BA flight I take. Should have stuck with Thai perhaps, but wanted to see the difference. Don't the BA staff realise that there are many many of their country-folk without ANY job. They should be grateful for what they have, surely?

Hope your flight is not affected by the action.

Used BA once a few years ago, never again, much better airlines available IMHO.

Best Regards

Mr Conrad

since december BA has trained some additional staff and they will move some crews from gatwick and the other airports to heathrow, from where the largest planes on the most busy routes depart.

they will run service partly

Why do unions always try to bleed their employer, which in turn punishes their customers, instead of pushing the government to cut taxes and spending? Reducing the VAT and income tax rates by just a small margin would increase workers net income by far more than any wage increase they might be pushing for? BA would always be a preferred airline for me because of their generally excellent service, but for the most part their fares aren't competitive.

Unions tend to look to the big money and squeeze it dry. Governments, airlines, railroads, and such are places that they can use political pressure and exploit the disruption it causes to people's lives in hopes of a faster settlement. For that reason travellers will always be at risk on union airlines, which most of the major ones are.

Why do unions always try to bleed their employer, which in turn punishes their customers, instead of pushing the government to cut taxes and spending? Reducing the VAT and income tax rates by just a small margin would increase workers net income by far more than any wage increase they might be pushing for? BA would always be a preferred airline for me because of their generally excellent service, but for the most part their fares aren't competitive.

ba unions were taking on their employer, the government, before the company was privatised by the torries in 1987 - since than it's taking on the shareholders, who can do without a 10 percent less profit. Unions were taking on the government during poll tax protests, but have no ground to press on the lower vat or the other taxes.

I find ba of nothing special, crew to be arrogant and fares to bangkok more expensive, than thai