BA withdraws cost-cutting plan as union announces strike dates

British Airways boss Willie Walsh has said a cost-cutting package offered to union Unite has been withdrawn after the union announced strike dates.

British Airways boss Willie Walsh has said a cost-cutting package offered to union Unite has been withdrawn after the union announced strike dates.

BA said: "Our offer to Unite was conditional on the union not naming strike dates. Because strike dates have been announced, Unite has invalidated the offer. It is no longer on the table.

“On Thursday, we had offered to let Unite extend their strike mandate period by three weeks to allow them to conduct a proper consultative ballot of their members. This was at Unite’s request – but Unite has now changed its position.”

Unite’s Len McCluskey said the withdrawal of the offer “beggared belief”, adding: “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.”

He urged BA to “see sense” and put the offer back on the table, saying the union would then be able to ask its members to vote on it.

The offer being put to Unite's members is no longer available, Mr Walsh confirmed, adding he was a now focusing on keeping the airline flying during the strikes.

He 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.

Interviewed on the BBC news channel, Mr Walsh 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.

“I can assure people they will be in the hands of dedicated people.”

Asked if the two sides were close to reaching a deal, Mr Walsh replied: “We are not close at all. The union’s proposals I have seen fall short and require cabin crew to take a cut in pay. That is morally wrong.”

BA said it was "extremely disappointed" by Unite's decision to strike and added that the action would cause "massive disruption".

“Unite’s action has no shred of justification,” said a spokesman. “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.”

The company said it would do “everything we can” to protect the travel plans of its customers.

“We plan to operate all British Airways’ flights from London City Airport, including long-haul services to New York.

“From Gatwick, we plan to operate all long-haul services and about 50% of short-haul. From Heathrow, we plan to operate a substantial part of our long-haul and short-haul schedule,” said the spokesman.

“We are also in the process of obtaining seats on flights operated by other carriers to enable thousands of customers to fly to their chosen destinations.”

The spokesman said a revised flying programme would be announced about five days before the strike is due to begin.

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