BA chief executive fires broadside at union bosses
13/03/2010 - 08:57:35British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh launched a scathing attack on union bosses today as the row over cost-cutting intensified following the announcement of seven days of strikes by cabin crew.
Unite said yesterday that thousands of its members will walk out for three days from March 20 and for four days from March 27 after the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Walsh described the move as “another cold-blooded threat” to the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers.
He accused the union of being stuck in a time warp and said it was blind to the difficulties the airline faces in the “worst recession for 80 years”, adding that it “prefers to believe the earth is flat”.
Insisting the airline would not be grounded by the strikes, Mr Walsh said: “The flag will continue to fly.”
He wrote: “(Unite) refuses to get the message. It prefers to believe the world is flat.
“It believes nothing changes. That economies go on growing for ever. That competition does not increase. That practices born in the cosy, nationalised industries of 40 years ago must be preserved in the global economic swirl of today.”
Unite revealed plans to ballot its 12,000 cabin crew members on an offer from BA but any hopes of a last-ditch reprieve for travellers were scuppered when the airline said the offer was no longer on the table.
BA temporarily stopped selling seats on flights operating on the strike days, adding that until it revised its flying schedule next week, all passengers who have booked to travel between March 19 and 31 will have the choice of either rebooking or cancelling and obtaining a refund.
Unite urged BA to “see sense” and put its offer back on the table, saying the airline’s decision to withdraw it “beggared belief”.
BA has drawn up contingency plans to deal with the strikes with up to 1,000 volunteer staff ready to work as cabin crew – including hundreds of pilots.
The airline will also hire 23 fully-crewed planes from charter companies to help run flights from Heathrow.
Flights from London’s City Airport, including long-haul services to New York, will operate normally, while 70% of cabin crew will work at Gatwick, meaning all long-haul and 50% of short-haul flights will be unaffected, BA said.
No specific details were given about flights from Heathrow, but Mr Walsh said a “substantial” number of long and short-haul services would still operate.
Mr Walsh revealed that Unite had asked for a three-week extension to the legal process to delay strikes being called, saying he had agreed to the request.
He said: “That is not what they have done. The offer we made last Wednesday is no longer available. We are moving on.
“I will make myself available for talks 24 hours a day but our focus will be on looking after our customers.
“This has caused great uncertainty for our customers and my focus will be on doing whatever we can to keep BA flying. We have robust contingency plans in place.
“There is absolutely no justification for the action Unite has taken. The changes we have introduced are fair and reasonable. This is about securing the future of this great business. We are not going to let Unite destroy this company.”
Mr Walsh said Unite’s proposals on cost savings fell “significantly short” of the savings BA had already achieved, adding: “Everybody can see this is a trade union trying to break the company.”
Crew who will stand in for strikers will be “safe and secure” and in many cases their training has exceeded the norm, he said, adding: “I can assure people they will be in the hands of dedicated people.”
Unite put forward a 10-page document during talks this week which detailed a series of savings on pay, crew numbers, natural wastage, hotel costs and meal allowances, totalling almost £63m (€69m).
The union said BA had offered to reinstate 184 full time cabin crew to its Euro and World Wide fleets but maintained this fell 600 short of its demands.
Officials described as “derisory” an offer to re-introduce 84 crew on World Wide flights and 100 on Euro fleets, and warned that the strikes will cost BA £25m (€27.5m) a day.
Len McCluskey, Unite’s assistant general secretary, said BA had turned down a “remarkable” offer from the union which he maintained would have given the airline everything it wanted.
“This offer gives the lie to the smears that these skilled and professional employees are mindless militants indifferent to BA’s difficulties or are defending a privileged position.
“The company contests our calculations but quibbles over the precise costing of our concessions (which) pale into insignificance compared to the losses BA will sustain in the event of an industrial dispute.”
Mr McCluskey warned further industrial action will be held after April 14 if the dispute remains unresolved.
On BA’s withdrawal of the offer, he said: “This move seems to put it beyond belief that management is bent on confrontation and never had any intention of an agreement.
“BA are now stopping their own employees from having a voice on an offer that could have ended this dispute. If there are wiser heads at BA, now is the time for them to speak up.
“It is our members now defending the BA brand against the Willie Walsh brand of macho management.”
BA said it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision to strike and added that the action would cause “massive disruption”, saying: “Unite’s action has no shred of justification. British Airways’ crew are rightly renowned for their professionalism and skills. Our entire package for crew recognises that and is reasonable and fair.
“British Airways is facing two years of record financial losses. Unlike other businesses, we have avoided compulsory redundancies and made changes designed to secure a long-term future for our company and our staff. Cabin crew face no pay cut or reduction in terms and conditions – and remain the best rewarded in the UK airline industry.”
Downing Street said Prime Minister Gordon Brown hoped a negotiated solution to the dispute could still be found.
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