Aggiornamento: le posizioni tra sindacati e BA sono sempre più distanti, Unite minaccia lo sciopero
Londra, 28 lug 10:33 - (Agenzia Nova)- Il sindacato Unite ha minacciato la compagnia aerea British Airways di attuare uno sciopero "con effetto immediato". Lo riferisce l'emittente radiotelevisiva britannica "Bbc". Unite e British Airways hanno avuto confronti accesi nelle ultime settimane, riguardanti il futuro dei piloti, degli equipaggi di cabina e di molti altri dipendenti della compagnia aerea. Ad aprile, British Airways aveva avvertito che avrebbe probabilmente dovuto tagliare 12 mila posti di lavoro a causa del coronavirus. La società aveva informato il proprio personale che se non fosse riuscita a raggiungere un compromesso con i sindacati avrebbe licenziato e riassunto con nuovi contratti numerosi membri del personale. Unite si è opposto a questa politica, e ha minacciato British Airways di conseguenze a livello di azione industriale. (Rel)
© Agenzia Nova - Riproduzione riservata
The head of the trade union Unite has warned British Airways that it plans to move towards industrial action against the airline "with immediate effect".
Unite and BA have been at loggerheads for several weeks. In April, BA owner IAG warned it could cut up to 12,000 jobs due to the impact of coronavirus.
Staff were warned that if agreement was not reached, they would be handed their notice and re-hired on new contracts.
BA said it was disappointed by Unite's criticism.
Many airlines are struggling to survive as the coronavirus pandemic has severely disrupted global travel.
The plunge in travel will drive airline losses of more than $84bn (£66bn) this year, the International Air Transport Association has warned. It said last month that 2020 revenues would drop to $419bn, down 50% from 2019.
'Fire and rehire'
For many long-serving staff, BA's plan would involve significant pay cuts, as well as changes to terms and conditions.
Unite - which represents thousands of BA employees including cabin crew, engineers and maintenance staff - has accused the airline of operating a 'fire and rehire policy'.
In a letter to BA's chief executive Alex Cruz, seen by the BBC, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey accuses Mr Cruz of "arrogance" in his dealings with the union.
Mr McCluskey says: "You have now published a timetable to fire and rehire thousands of your workforce on 7 August.
"We will work every hour between now and then to convince you not to do so.
"You can take this letter as our commitment to do that. However, you can also take this as an intention to defend our members by moving towards industrial action with immediate effect".
'Save more jobs'
British Airways said the lockdown and halt in travel "is the biggest challenge the airline and our industry has ever faced".
"It is disappointing that a company doing everything it can to save jobs is being singled out by Unite for national criticism, when jobs are being lost across the country in every industry," it said in a statement responding to Unite's letter.
The new contracts make BA competitive with lower-cost airlines, it said. It insists 40% of cabin crew would get a pay rise, while crew suffering cuts would see their basic pay drop by 20%, although they also stand to lose shift pay, meaning drops of around 40% are possible.
"If staff accept the changes to the way they work or their terms and conditions, we expect to be able to save more jobs."
The head of the trade union Unite warns the airline that it plans to move towards industrial action.
www.bbc.com
www.headforpoints.com
