Flights could be disrupted next week as British Airways cabin crew announce a fresh 48-hour walk out next week.
Members of the Unite union will stage the fresh strike next Tuesday, January 10, after rejecting an offer aimed at resolving a row over pay.
The cabin crew were due to walk out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but the action was suspended after last-ditch talks at the conciliation service, Acas.
Unite said its members rejected the most recent offer by 7 to 1.
The dispute involves members of the so-called mixed fleet cabin crew who joined BA in recent years and who, the union says, receive lower pay than other staff.
Mixed fleet cabin staff fly both long and short haul journeys.
National officer Oliver Richardson said: “British Airways is needlessly provoking strike action by refusing to extend the mandate of the strike ballot and allow meaningful talks to take place.
“Instead of listening to why its ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew rejected the offer negotiated at Acas, British Airways has sought instead to try and bully a workforce of young men and women who are trying to eke out a living on poverty pay.
“Such game-playing and a desire to seek confrontation is not only a great disservice to passengers, but shows an unwillingness by British Airways to engage in constructive industrial relations.
“Unite remains hopeful that a negotiated settlement which meets our members’ aspirations can be achieved and would urge British Airways to engage constructively in meaningful talks to address poverty pay.”
Source: Evening Standard
