27 October 2009

BA strikes loom but Walsh cost slashing will continue

British Airways cabin crew could strike in the run up to Christmas, further puncturing the flag carrier’s ailing finances.

Some 14,000 crew are to be ballotted on strike action by their unions as negotiations over pay and working practices failed to bear fruit after nine long months of wrangling.

And with the mood rebellious amongst staff after a series of shocks that include being asked to work for nothing by BA chief executive Willie Walsh, strikes look likely, bringing travel misery to thousands over the festive period.

The ballot should take around four weeks and would mean strike action kicking off at the start of December.

But despite this, Walsh has vowed to continue with this raft of cost cutting measures which include freezing pay, reducing overseas travel allowance, implementing voluntary redundancies and moving 3000 staff to part time roles.

Walsh wants to reduce staff numbers on various routes and fill the gap by asking senior crew to join the food service staff. The chief executive also shocked staff by asking them to follow in his footsteps and work for no pay for one month.

The airline lost £401 million last year and BA's management wants to reduce its cabin crew budget by about £140 million a year.

Although it is thought that BA is currently focusing on contingency plans should the strike go ahead, it is anticipated that the carrier will still be forced to cancel flights as Chrsitmas approaches.

Said Walsh: "The changes that we are making from mid-November will go ahead regardless and I have made that very clear to them. We have got fantastic cabin crew but we can’t avoid the realities of the cost structures that we have within the business and they simply are not sustainable."

Dinah Hatch

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Your Comments (2)

wind it up and start again

Ba is now past redemption, just wind it up and start again and send Walsh back to where he came from

By Paul Neaves, Thursday, October 29, 2009
What about the passengers?

What seems to left out of the Walsh equation is the passenger who is getting less and less for their fares. Food and beverage cuts, new user fees, reduced service, all to be complimented by unhappy cabin crew. Walsh, together with management, should also take pay cuts and forgo any bonuses they are expecting. As a further token of Walsh talent is the fact that the pension funds remain seriously in deficit. All this is enough to make desperate passengers to think about Ryanair - at least they get what they expect - zero service.

By J Hewson, Wednesday, October 28, 2009