A three-day strike by British Airways cabin crew affecting thousands of
travelers began Saturday after last-ditch talks between the airline's
management and union leaders collapsed.
The walkout has forced BA to cancel thousands of flights, but it still
hopes to operate around 65 percent of its international schedule over
the period.
The Unite union has gathered some support from unions in the United
States, Germany and Spain for its action — taken to protest a pay freeze
and changes to working conditions — but the other unions have so far
stopped short of pledging direct action that would affect BA's ability
to refuel and service its planes.
A total of 1,100 flights out of the 1,950 flights scheduled to operate
during the walkout will be canceled, but the airline has leased planes
and crew from rival carriers to take up some of the shortfall.
At its Heathrow base, more than 60 percent of long-haul flights will
operate, but only 30 percent of short-haul. At Gatwick, all long-haul
flights and more than half the short-haul flights will run as normal.
"Tens of thousands of BA people stand ready to serve our customers,"
said BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh. "BA will be flying tomorrow."
Adam Huberman of Issta, a flight and tour agency specializing in trips
to Israel, said he was taking 60 to 80 calls a day from passengers
planning to travel to Israel before Passover, which starts March 30.
He said the strike couldn't have come at a worse time.
"It is the busiest time of the year," he said, adding that the agency
had put on some flights of its own. "Some will be able to go but fares
are obviously higher because it's so last minute."
Among others whose plans were affected were the Cardiff County and Vale
of Glamorgan Youth Band from Wales, who are scheduled to play in a wind
band festival at Carnegie Hall in New York on Tuesday.
Their scheduled Saturday flight was one of the ones BA has canceled, but
after television and radio appeals — and a letter to rival virgin
Atlantic — BA managed to get them onto alternative planes.
Picket lines will be mounted over the weekend at several entrances to
Heathrow, but Walsh said he had "no concern whatsoever" about the threat
of solidarity actions in other countries.
The U.S. International Brotherhood of Teamsters urged travelers to find
alternatives during the strike.
"We are keenly aware of British Airways' operations in the United States
and the cities served by the airline," the Teamsters, who represent
40,000 workers in the aviation industry, said in a statement. "We
continue to look at this situation as it evolves and are keeping our
options open."
Walsh said it was "deeply regrettable" that the union declined to accept
a proposal on pay and working conditions from the airline, adding that
offer would be withdrawn once the strike begins.
Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said that BA "does not want
to negotiate and ultimately wants to go to war with this union."
The prospect of travel chaos in Britain in the run-up to the Easter
break also intensified with news that railway signal workers voted in
favor of a strike, joining rail maintenance workers. The Rail Maritime
and Transport union has not called dates for a walkout of both groups of
workers but has refused to rule out the Easter long weekend.
The prospective industrial unrest is an unwelcome turn of events for the
ruling Labour Party on the eve of a national election.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the strike to be called off
immediately.
"The Prime Minister believes that this strike is in no one's interest
and will cause unacceptable inconvenience to passengers," his office
said in a statement.
"As the country struggles out of the recession, the last thing we need
is the unions holding the country to ransom," said Theresa Villiers, the
opposition Conservative Party's transport spokeswoman.
BA argues that the disputed changes — including a pay freeze in 2010, a
switch to part-time work for 3,000 staff and a reduction in cabin crew
sizes from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights from Heathrow airport — are
critical for its survival. Unite argues it was not properly consulted on
the changes.
BA said Friday it had offered to modify the changes, even though they
had been approved by Britain's High Court, but Unite had declined to put
the offer to its members to vote.
Analysts estimate that BA has already lost more than 25 million pounds
because of canceled tickets and the cost of contingency plans, which
include leasing fully crewed planes from other airlines.
Unite has a second, four-day walkout planned to begin March 27 and has
said more strikes will be scheduled for after April 14 if the dispute is
not resolved. It has pledged not to walk out over the busy Easter
period.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
