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[size=75:3c4bz6ak]novinite December 14, 2009

British Airways Cabin Crew Set to Strike over Christmas

British Airways cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike in a dispute over job cuts and changes to staff contracts.

The strikes are set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January. They are expected to cause significant disruption over the Christmas period.

Cabin crew voted by nine to one in favour of the strike action, the BBC reported.

The strike could cause problems for many UK and Bulgarian tourists who use the airline to fly between the two countries over the festive period.

It follows a long dispute between the unions and BA, which is intent on cutting costs to ensure its survival.

"
It goes without saying that we have taken this decision to disrupt passengers and customers over the Christmas period with a heavy heart,"
said Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of the Unite union.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a section of Unite, also said it was unhappy about taking strike action.

"
We are deeply saddened to have reached the point where we must take industrial action to get our voices heard, but feel that we have been left with no other choice,"
it said.



This could be bad news for some I was watching the news earlier and they said that those who have booked are unlikely to get any compensation if the flight is canceled because of the strike

Forgot to add this sorry this is another view

I am ground staff at Heathrow working for BA. I have no sympathy for those who are going on strike.
This strike is the worst thing cabin crew can do and it will ruin thousands upon thousands of Christmases around the world.
I hope striking crew feel ashamed of what they are doing. They are undoing all the hard work we have all put in to the company.
I understand they have issues but there are different ways in dealing with them.
I am worried about what may happen next week. I have been working for BA for six years and I have experienced some strike action. But nothing can prepare me for what is going to happen next week. The strike will be phenomenally larger than what has ever gone on before.
There could be hundreds of thousands of people showing up at the airport, and we may not have any flights for them.
We will have to deal with the repercussions, and we are going to be slammed by upset customers.
The public doesn't differentiate between cabin crew and ground staff;
all people see is the BA uniform and will group us all together.
I am upset about this - it is soul destroying. Cabin crew should take a long hard look at the decision they have made and think what will happen in the long term.
My main gripe is the timing - it is tragic. Negotiations have been going on for months. But looking at it from the public's viewpoint, the way the situation has been handled is unforgivable.
I really fear for the viability of the company. Things aren't great for any airline at the moment. This is the worse possible time to take strike action, and this has brought very bad publicity for BA.

Well said by the ground crew this person deserves a medal is he the only one who can see what’s happening here, this will cause BA so much damage if they go ahead and I don't believe they will recover from it either, another point what’s wrong with BA creating a low cost airline

Just found this not related but it makes you think ?

Scottish airline Flyglobespan goes into administration, affecting up to 5,000 passengers

Up to 5,000 travellers could be affected after Scotland's biggest airline has been grounded after going into administration.

Flyglobespan flights will not be allowed to take off from tomorrow morning after last-ditch attempts to save parent company Globespan Group failed this afternoon.

The Edinburgh-based airline began services in 2002 and currently operates flights from five airports across the UK including Aberdeen, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The web-based flight and package holiday firm's 600 staff have been informed the company has been placed into administration.

Planes due to take off this evening will be allowed to continue flying but passengers arriving at airports tomorrow will be turned away.

Ryanair has responded to the news saying it will offer a 'rescue fare' to passengers affected at Edinburgh and Prestwick airports, where routes include Alicante, Faro, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga, Palma and Tenerife.

Customers who booked package holidays with Globespan will be protected by Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) and can complete their holidays. Customers with package holidays who are yet to travel, will be able to claim a refund.

David Moesli, Deputy Director of the Consumer Protection Group, said: 'Customers abroad who have booked a holiday package with the tour operator Globespan are ATOL protected.

'We are making the necessary arrangements to allow people who are currently on a package holiday with Globespan to complete their holidays and fly home.

'Customers will be booked on to new flights by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to bring them home. We are making arrangements for overseas representatives to provide information to Globespan customers.'

The company had hoped for an 11th hour reprieve against administration with a cash injection from Jersey-based Halcyon Investments. However, last-minute talks are thought to have fallen by the wayside.

Four weeks ago, a company spokesperson denied reports that Globespan was on the brink of administration and just two days ago Globespan chairman Tom Dalrymple said he was confident an investment package would be forthcoming saying: 'This is good news for the company, our customers and our staff.'

The airline, which served 24 destinations in Europe, North America and North Africa, has expanded aggressively in recent years. In 2009, the airline carried more than 1.5m passengers and operated 12,000 flights.

Customers who have not yet travelled should contact the CAA for more information on 0844 856 2585.

willowsend wrote:

BA have just won their High Court injunction to stop the strike

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This is very good news for the airline and also its passengers it’s a shame to have to say this but let’s hope other company's follow the same route as BA and show them that they cannot hold people to Ransom

I just wonder what the unions will try and do next to create anarchy lets keep our fingers crossed that they don't

[size=75:3aodembm]novinite 17 December 2009


UK Court Declares British Airways Christmas Strike Illegal

A strike by British Airways cabin crew planned for Christmas has been declared illegal in a High Court ruling.

The court agreed with BA that the cabin crew's union, Unite, had not correctly balloted its members on the strike action.

The injunction means that the 12-day strike cannot now go ahead. Passengers traveling to and from Bulgaria from the UK were set to be badly affected.

Unite called it "
a disgraceful day for democracy"
and vowed to hold a fresh ballot of cabin crew if the dispute with BA was not resolved, the BBC reported.

British Airways said the decision would be welcomed by "
hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world"
.

"
There was never any need for a strike and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps,"
a statement from the company said.

Hooray ... somebody used Common Sense for once! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Justice prevails and common sense which does shock me
sarah

Great news for all those traveling this Christmas well done to common sense

Good new for all :Congrats:

[size=75:3t7a0oog]BBC online 22 February 2010

British Airways strike ballot results due

British Airways is expected to face fresh threats of strikes by some cabin crew, when the results of a ballot on industrial action are revealed.

About 12,000 members of the Unite union have been voting on whether to take action in a row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

An earlier vote, overwhelmingly in favour of strikes, was deemed illegal.

On Monday, 4,000 pilots at German airline Lufthansa began four days of strike action.

The carrier has cancelled about 3,000 flights and has warned of delays both domestically and internationally.

Pay freeze

In a current poll by Unite's cabin crew branch, two-thirds of those responding have backed a 12-day strike.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) has 11,000 members, 4,000 of which have voted in the online poll.

Many BA staff were unhappy with the 12-day strike proposed in the first Unite ballot in December, feeling it was too long.

However, even a vote for action by Unite members would not necessarily lead to strikes, BASSA said.

"
We don't want to strike,"
said spokesperson Ken Ablard. "
All we want is for BA to negotiate and not impose"
.

Public criticism

Staff have been voting for two weeks in the ballot whose result will be announced at 1700 GMT on Monday.

The cabin crew voted by more than nine to one in favour of strikes in December and union officials expect another resounding "
yes"
vote.

They were due to take 12 days of strike action over Christmas but BA won a legal battle to prevent this, after it emerged that the union had balloted members who were no longer at the airline.

Legally, the union must give a week's notice if it plans to take action - meaning strikes could begin from March 1.

Unite has already pledged that there will not be stoppages over the Easter period.

BA has already threatened to take away generous travel perks for workers who do strike.

BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott said it would be interesting to see whether negative media coverage, criticism from the public over its Christmas strike plans and the threatened loss of perks, would make a difference to the result of the ballot.

Cutting costs

In November, BA reduced the number of cabin crew on long haul flights from 15 to 14 and brought in a two-year pay freeze from 2010.

The airline has also proposed new contracts for fresh recruits and newly-promoted staff. These include a single on-board management grade, no seniority, promotion on merit, and pay set at the market rate plus 10%.

This would still see new recruits paid significantly less than current staff, however.

On Friday, a High Court judge ruled that BA was within its rights to make the changes to save money.

The union had claimed it was not consulted properly, but the judge said the "
less-than-extreme changes"
including freezing pay and cutting crew on long-haul flights, were not unreasonable.

The changes are all part of cost-cutting measures at the loss-making airline.



Earlier this month, British Airways announced it made a pre-tax loss of £50m ($79m) in the three months to December 2009, down from the £122m it lost a year earlier.

[size=75:1jjxbhay]BA update 22 February 2010

Cabin crew strike ballot

Unite, the trade union that represents the majority of British Airways (BA) cabin crew, has announced that its strike ballot has closed with a vote in favour of industrial action.

The outcome of the ballot is very disappointing and brings a renewed threat of industrial action, which is completely unjustified.

In the weeks before and during the ballot period, Unite claimed that we had breached individual crew members’ contracts by making modest changes to onboard crew numbers on flights from Heathrow. We have always said this claim was false, and it was rejected by the High Court three days ago.

The vast majority of crew who voted in this ballot will have done so before the High Court decision. We hope Unite will bear this fact in mind as it considers its next steps.

We believe some progress has been made in recent talks under the auspices of the TUC and we reiterate our wish to resolve the issues between us in the interests of our customers and all our staff.

However, we will not allow Unite to ruin this company. Should a strike take place, we will do everything we can to protect your travel plans as far as possible.

We would like to reassure you that all of our flights are continuing to operate as normal at this time.

If strike dates are announced

If strike dates are announced we will put contingency plans in place and communicate them as soon as possible.

You will be able to rebook, free of charge and subject to availability, onto other British Airways flights outside of the strike period for up to 355 days from the original date of travel.

Refunds will only be available if flights are actually cancelled or if the original booking conditions allow.


In the event that cancellations are made due to strike action

You will be able to:

* Rebook onto another British Airways flight to the same destination within 355 days of the original date of travel
* Rebook onto another British Airways flight to/from the nearest alternative airport (for example, if booked to/from Boston you could rebook to/from Philadelphia or New York)
* Cancel your booking and get a refund.

All rebooking options will be subject to availability.

More detailed information about rebooking options, including specific dates covered by these guidelines will be made available if a strike is announced.

Normal Conditions of Carriage will apply for any flights that are cancelled outside of the strike period.


Update your contact details

If you are affected it is our intention to inform you directly if we have your e-mail address or by SMS text if we have your mobile phone number.

We will use the contact details supplied at the time of booking, so please ensure these are correct and up-to-date: