Sigh. There’s going to be another British Airways strike this month
Another day, another life-disrupting transport strike: today the Unite union announced members working for the company will stage a four-day strike, from midnight on 17 February to midnight on 20 February.
It's the latest in a series of walkouts by cabin crew over low wages. The announcement was generously timed to coincide with the penultimate day of the three-day strike they're currently on.
In a statement today Unite called on British Airways to get around the negotiating table and thrash out a deal over what it called "poverty pay".
National union officer Oliver Richardson said BA should "focus on addressing poverty pay in its mixed fleet, rather than continuing to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on chartering in aircraft to cover striking workers".
“We would urge British Airways to join us at reconvened Acas talks and negotiate a settlement to avoid the cost and disruption of a further four days of strike action.”
A spokesperson for British Airways said:
"We have flown all customers to their destinations during the previous strikes by Mixed Fleet Unite and we will ensure this happens again.
"We will publish more details on Tuesday February 14 once we have finalised our contingency plans.
"Our pay offer for Mixed Fleet crew is consistent with the deal accepted by 92 per cent of colleagues across the airline, most of whom are represented by Unite.
"It also reflects pay awards given by other companies in the UK and will ensure that rewards for Mixed Fleet remain in line with those for cabin crew at our airline competitors."
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