Leaders of British Airways cabin crew tonight urged the airline's chief
executive to "come out of his bunker" and hold fresh talks as a
three-day strike over jobs and cost-cutting came to an end.
Thousands of passengers who had their journeys disrupted because of the
walkout are braced for further problems because of a four-day stoppage
due
to start on Saturday.
Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said he had not received any
positive
response from the company to his plea for fresh talks and added that
chief
executive Willie Walsh's silence was "deafening."
BA said its contingency plans were continuing to work well around the
world,
maintaining that it had added extra flights at Heathrow and Gatwick
because
more staff than expected had turned up for work.
The two sides continued to clash over the impact of the strike, with BA
accusing the union of publishing information which had "no basis in
fact".
Among the claims made by Unite today were that some aircraft had left
Heathrow
with their blinds down to hide the fact that few, if any, passengers
were on
board.
It is understood Mr Woodley has contacted TUC general secretary Brendan
Barber
about restarting talks which collapsed last week after BA tabled an
offer
Unite complained was worse than a previous one.
Mr Woodley visited picket lines around Heathrow Airport today and
addressed a
rally, reaffirming that the union leadership remained ready for talks
at any
time before the next strikes.
"Willie Walsh's silence is deafening. Where's Willie? He has not been
seen or
heard from today while his business grinds to a halt," he said.
"Cabin crew have sent the company the most powerful message over the
last
three days that they will not be cowed or bullied into accepting
industrial
dictat. I am proud of their solidarity and resilience, and the support
they
have given to this dispute, which none of them wanted.
"I would like to hear BA's board justify spending millions on a
floundering
strike-breaking operation when they turned down an offer of more than
£55
million in cost savings from their own cabin crew.
"We estimate that BA may have spent as much as £18 million on leasing
airplanes over the last three days, and it is beyond dispute that most
of
its long-haul flights have been cancelled, and most of those which
have
taken off are half-empty or completely passenger-free.
"This is the economics of the madhouse which can only lead to suspicions
that
there is another, union-busting, agenda at work here.
"Trying to break Unite will break BA's bank account. That is why it is
time to
talk. Pick up the phone, Willie."
Striking staff were in a buoyant mood at the rally, many booing BA
flights as
they passed overhead and joining in chants aimed at Mr Walsh of:
"Willie,
Willie, Willie - out, out, out."
One held a placard mocking the airline's slogan, which read: "The
world's
favourite picket line".
Meanwhile, at Heathrow's Terminal Five, disgruntled passengers faced
further
frustrations.
German couple Carolin and Stefan Marquardt were stuck in the terminal
building
for seven hours waiting for a flight home to Stuttgart - having cut
short
their holiday to India by a night.
BA said: "We are operating our planned schedule of departures at
Heathrow and
Gatwick and we have been able to add flights into our schedule at both
airports over the weekend as well as today.
"We continue to operate across the world to almost 120 different
destinations
and are continuing to add in extra cities, due to the numbers of crew
reporting for work.
"Cabin crew are continuing to report as normal at Gatwick, and Heathrow
levels
remain above what we need to operate our published schedule.
"As a PLC, British Airways is legally obliged to ensure that it does not
release information that is misleading or inaccurate.
"This information includes matters such as numbers of passengers we are
able
to carry, numbers of flights operated and numbers of crew reporting
for
work. Any suggestion in media reports that information we have issued
is
untrue implies that the airline's management is acting unlawfully.
"Unite and its cabin crew branch, Bassa, are under no such legal
constraints.
A great deal of the information they have put out over the last three
days
has no basis in fact. For example, Unite has no way of obtaining
accurate
figures as to how many customers are on our aircraft or how many crew
are
reporting for work."
Business group London First, whose members include many of London's
internationally-based businesses, said the capital's reputation as a
centre
for global trade was being damaged by the strike.
Chief executive Baroness Valentine said: "Despite the best efforts of BA
management and many staff to continue to put the interests of
passengers
first, the strike is reminiscent of a best-forgotten era.
"The message from BA's London-based business customers to both sides is:
Get
back to the negotiating table, and to union members: Get back to work
in the
meantime."
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