Sun, Dec 20, 2009
Union Says 'Bah Humbug!' To Decision
The High Court ruled on Thursday that more than more than
12,000 British Airways cabin crew members cannot strike as planned
due to a technicality in the balloting used to poll the
workers. The members of the Unite union had voted to strike
for 12 days, from December 22 until to January 2.
British Airways and the cabin crew union Unite have been at odds
over changes made by BA including reducing the number of cabin crew
from 15 to 14 on all long-haul flights, and eliminating pay
increases for two years. The union calls the new polices
"draconian plans to axe 1,700 jobs, impose a two-year wage freeze
and introduce a second tier workforce."
BA won the injunction against Union by claiming "irregularities
in the union's strike ballot" including polling workers that had
already accepted voluntary layoffs. Unite claims a 92%
affirmative vote with 80% of the eligible membership casting
ballots.
Unite released a statement from joint general secretaries
Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley saying: "While we have never wanted
this dispute it is a disgraceful day for democracy when a court can
overrule such an overwhelming decision by employees taken in a
secret ballot."
The letter made clear that a strike was still a threat to BA:
"Given the clear mood of cabin crew about management's imposition
of changes on their working lives, this means that the spectre of
further disruption to the company's operations cannot be
removed. Only a negotiated agreement can do that."
BA, who had been offering to rebook holiday flights to other
times for free, quickly posted the positive news to their
customers. "We are delighted for our customers that the
threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court," read a
statement on the BA website. "We do not want to see a million
Christmases ruined."
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