British Airways may face 12-day Strike

The cabin crew of British Airways has began to vote on the most recent proposal from the carrier’s management, and it is scheduled to conclude this Friday. The details of the offer haven’t been disclosed, but the union, Unite, has been encouraging its members to reject the offer. Union leaders accuse the airline of victimizing crew who participated in the strikes just over 2 months ago since 4 staff have been fired and another 50 have been suspended.

Unite leaders say they are disappointed with the proposal from British Airways, because the carrier won’t give back all of the crew’s travel perks. The airline warned workers before the strikes that the perks would be withdrawn if they took part in the industrial action, as the perks were privileges not under contract. So now about 5,000 crew are without full travel perks.

However, British Airways’ spokesman said that the offer given to the union and crew is very fair. Willie Walsh, the carrier’s chief executive, calls the move from Unite leaders to urge cabin crew to reject the deal bizarre, as he believes they addressed everything the union wanted in the agreement.

It’s pretty likely that there will be another strike if the cabin crew reject this new offer. If that happens, there is talk that Unite will be asked to consider at least a 10-day strike. However, Bassa, a branch of the union, says that a poll of its members earlier in the year showed that the workers strongly supported a 12-day walkout. So with the group meeting union leaders this week, it’s possible they will ask for a walkout just as long or longer.

The earliest that a strike can be scheduled to start is May 14, as Unite has to wait at least 7 days after announcing the strike dates, which could happen on Friday after the completion of the ballot. If industrial action is approved and given a date, then it’s possible the strike will be split in waves like the cabin crew’s previous action.