Thomas Cook cabin crew to vote on industrial action
Thomas Cook cabin crew are considering taking industrial action following the breakdown of talks with management over the company's redundancy plans.
Unite the Union said 498 jobs face the axe but it has been unable to agree redundancy terms with management.
Some 1,300 of Thomas Cook's 1,800 cabin crew will be balloted within the next week, it said.
The cabin crews fly from Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, and Stansted.
In a statement issued today, the union said it has asked the company to put a "realistic" voluntary severance package on the table, but that the management had "point blank refused" its offer of two weeks per year redundancy pay.
Unite had requested a minimum of three weeks per year, plus a lump sum payment of £5,000. The average cabin crew pay is £15,000-a-year.
Unite regional officer, Mick Whitley said: "The company was only interested in putting in place the building blocks for voluntary and compulsory redundancies.
"This has left Unite with no other alternative but to suspend the consultation talks and hold a consultative ballot with the Unite membership at Thomas Cook. The ballot will be conducted within the next week to gauge the feeling of our members.
"We are completely against the redundancy terms and any compulsory redundancies purely to make more profit. The group has made £320m this year and is paying out a fortune in bonuses and dividends, as well as sponsoring the Olympics."
Thomas Cook will reduce the size of its fleet by from this winter as part of a cost-cutting drive. It has announced plans remove six long-haul aircraft by the end of the year and has confirmed publicly that it plans to shed 250 jobs. It also plans to eradicate the rank of assistant cabin manager, said the union.
By Linsey McNeill
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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