BA staff discuss 'unfair contracts'

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Thousands of members of Unite are set to be balloted for industrial action over the changes which have also sparked the threat of legal action by the union.

BA is seeking to cut thousands of jobs, freeze pay and introduce different employment contracts under moves to cut costs in the face of a recession-fuelled downturn in the aviation industry.

Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite, said: "BA faces significant difficulties across the business, so why is it also seeking a damaging confrontation with 14,000 cabin crew?

"It needs to think again and abandon plans to force through unfair, unworkable contractual changes.

"Cabin crew will not stand by while the service they provide proudly, and which is the core of BA's appeal to customers, is cut to the bone.

"Passengers and the business will suffer so we cannot understand BA management's logic. This is now a fight to defend the best of BA."

BA said it had announced changes to onboard cabin crew numbers so it could accept more than 1,000 requests for voluntary redundancy and more than 3,000 for part-time working.

The airline pointed out it had been negotiating with Unite for more than nine months and insisted the changes it was seeking to introduce in two weeks' time did not alter contractual terms and conditions for current crew members.

A spokesman said: "British Airways is facing very difficult economic conditions and is heading for a second successive year of financial losses for the first time in our history. Everyone within the company knows we must reduce our costs to move back towards profitability."