Unite to sue British Airways over removal of employee travel perks
UNITE, the trade union representing 11,000 British Airways (BA) cabin crew, will launch a legal attack over the airline’s removal of travel perks from striking staff.
The union said yesterday it believed BA management was “breaching European human rights legislation” when it cut travel concessions from cabin crew in March.
BA and Unite have been at odds over the move since and it is now the sole reason the dispute continues.
Unite joint general secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley said: “Unite remains determined to secure a settlement to this dispute acceptable to cabin crew. Until such an agreement is secured, we will continue to support our members financially and legally.”
The airline rejected the claim by Unite and has pledged to defend its position vigorously.
A statement from BA said: “Staff travel is a non-contractual perk that the company can withdraw at its discretion. Our cabin crew knew that if they took part in strike action they would lose their staff travel perks.”
Unite and BA will return to the negotiating table next week at conciliation service, Acas in an attempt to come to an agreement.