BA offers proof striking crew earn thousands more than union claims
British Airways has rubbished union claims that its striking ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew are paid poverty wages.
And it claims the salaries for the staff, who have all been recruited since 2010, are in line with its competitor airlines.
The crew’s union, Unite, has claimed the airline’s newest mixed fleet recruits earn on average just £16,000 a year, however BA said all new crew in their first year working full time will earn more than £21,000, including pay, allowances, incentive and bonus.
It said those working full-time between September 1 2015 and August 31 2016 earned between £21,151.35 and £27,356.30.
The airline said it had offered an independent audit of its pay data over the last 12 months to support its claim that all its mixed fleet cabin crew earn more than £21,000.
Today Unite delivered a letter to retailer Marks & Spencer on behalf of its 2,900 mixed fleet cabin crew members asking the retailer to put pressure on BA to increase their pay.
The letter coincided with the start of a roll out of M&S meals on BA’s short-haul services, but Unite said BA crew couldn’t afford to buy the food they are expected to sell to passengers.
In a statement, BA said: "Our proposal for our mixed fleet cabin crew is consistent with pay deals agreed with Unite for other British Airways colleagues. It also reflects pay awards given by other companies in the UK and will ensure their reward levels remain in line with cabin crew at our airline competitors.
"We regularly recruit for mixed fleet cabin crew and we have lots of interest. We received more than 25,000 applications for 2,000 cabin crew roles. We have more than 1,000 successful candidates who are due to participate in one of our training courses between now and March 2017."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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