BA passengers bracing for disruption

British Airways cabin crew have once again voted in favour of staging a strike, sources within the Unite union have told The Evening Standard.

Though the result of the ballot will not officially  be announced until Monday 22 February, the newspaper claims that disaffected BA staff have decided to stand by their original call for industrial action.

If confirmed, the renewed threat of walkouts would be a devastating blow to British Airways, coming just days after the flag carrier received tentative approval for its long-awaited merger with American Airlines.

BA cabin crew and management have been locked in a bitter dispute over working conditions since staffing levels on long-haul flights were reduced last year.

Unite claims the unilateral action amounted to a breach of contract and has lodged an appeal with the High Court, which is due to make its ruling on the matter tomorrow.

The union had previously announced a devastating 12-day strike over Christmas and the New Year, but holiday travellers were spared the misery that would have ensued when a last-ditch temporary injunction banning the walkout was secured by British Airways management.

The High Court ruled that the manner in which Unite balloted its members was illegal, as staff who had already accepted voluntary redundancy were allowed to vote.

Its decision prompted a fresh ballot for the 12,000 BA cabin crew members who are currently represented by Unite, with the official results of that new vote being announced on Monday.

Analysts had voiced optimism that a deal might be struck between the two sides in January. But tensions have since risen to fever pitch, with both British Airways and the Unite union accusing each other of waging a campaign of bullying and intimidation against flight attendants.

Last weekend, 15 BA cabin crew were suspended pending an investigation into alleged harassment perpetrated on social networking website Facebook. One of the disciplined crew members yesterday told Sky News that BA management had behaved like the “Gestapo”.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.