BA strike to go ahead as talks collapse
Updated on 19 March 2010
The prime minister condemns the "unacceptable inconvenience" of a British Airways cabin crew strike as talks to prevent the midnight walk-out collapse.
Officials from the Unite union have been locked in talks with the airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, this week in a bid to find a breakthrough in a bitter row over cost-cutting.
Following the collapse of the talks Unite's joint leader, Tony Woodley, said he was "extremely disappointed" that the efforts to head off the strike had failed while accusing BA of wanting a "war" with the union.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh said he "deeply regretted" the breakdown of talks, adding that a new offer tabled by the airline will be withdrawn once the strike starts. He called the strikes "unjustified".
Mr Woodley emerged from five hours of talks with Mr Walsh at the TUC headquarters in London today to say that "hawks" on the BA board had won the day.
He said BA had tabled a worse offer than one withdrawn last week after the union announced this weekend's strike, and another four- day walkout from March 27.
"I am extremely disappointed for the travelling public and our members, but this union will now support our members, while remaining open for talks with the company.
More from Channel 4 News
- BA strike: information for travellers
- Information if you are travelling between 20-22 March
- Information if you are travelling between 23-26 March
- Information if you are travelling between 27-31 March
- Signal workers strike vote threatens rail chaos
"It is with great disappointment that I have to say the strike will go ahead. It is an absolute disgrace and an insult to our people that he (Mr Walsh) tabled a deal that reduced the amount of pay on offer. It is ridiculous to expect anyone to go to their membership with a worse offer."
Willie Walsh personally apologised to passengers in a message posted on the internet. Hosted on the BA website the recording assured customers that replacement staff being used during the strike had been trained "up to and beyond" the required standards.
Mr Walsh said he had received many messages of support from customers, some of whom had urged him to "stand firm".
Flight disruption
British Airways warned passengers that flights could be cancelled even after the first three-day cabin crew strike ends.
"There may be a knock-on effect after the strike and we have published details on our website of what passengers can do if their flight is cancelled," a BA spokeswoman said.
The warning means that BA passengers could face disruption on a continuous basis from tomorrow until after the second planned strike - from March 27 to 30 - is over.
BA is confident that it will be able to handle as many as 49,000 passengers on each of the first two planned strike days - tomorrow and Sunday.
This weekend, BA will be operating all flights to and from London City airport and all long-haul flights to and from Gatwick airport in West Sussex.
The airline plans to run 50 per cent of its short-haul Gatwick services, about 60 per cent of its Heathrow long-haul services and about 30 per cent of its Heathrow short-haul flights.
A BA spokeswoman said: "We would normally operate around 400 to 450 flights on a weekend day. We're hoping to be able to get around 65 per cent of our passengers away this weekend."
In another blow for Labour ahead of the general election railway signal workers also voted in favour of strike action today. The RMT announced that signal workers balloted in favour of industrial action as a row over job cuts rumbles on.
Maintenance workers belonging to the Rail Maritime and Transport union have already voted to go on strike in protest at the 1,500 job losses at Network Rail.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister believes that this strike is in no-one's interest and will cause unacceptable inconvenience to passengers.
"He urges the strike be called off immediately.
"He also urges BA's management and workforce to get together without delay to resolve what is a dispute about jobs and wages."
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said today that it was "disappointing" that the negotiations between Unite and BA had broken down, whilst urging talks to continue.
"Clearly, passengers travelling in the next few days will need to check with BA on the status of their flights. I continue to urge both sides to find a negotiated settlement," he said.
