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A passenger is seen photographing a British Airways aircraft with his mobile telephone at Heathrow Airport near London - Source: Reuters
A three-day strike by many of British Airways' cabin crews will
go ahead from Saturday after talks with management collapsed, the
Unite union said.
The strike, which is likely to disrupt travel plans for thousands,
presents a major headache for the ruling centre-left Labour party
weeks before a general election because Unite is its biggest single
financial backer.
Britain's railway signal workers added to the government's problems
by voting to strike over job cuts and changes to working practices,
raising the threat of a first national rail strike in 16
years.
Tony Woodley, Unite's joint general secretary, told reporters that
the BA cabin crews who are in dispute would go on strike at
midnight for three days, and then again from March 27 to March 30,
just as the Easter holiday season begins.
Woodley said "hawks" within BA who wanted confrontation had won the
day, including chief executive Willie Walsh.
"I think it is a classic case of Mr Walsh unfortunately being one
of the hawks who is looking for a war with our members as opposed
to a negotiated settlement," he said.
The airline wants to save an annual $134 million to help cope with
a fall in demand, volatile fuel prices and increased competition
from low-cost carriers.
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In full-page newspaper advertisements, Walsh said a significant
number of cabin crew would work during the strike and the majority
of BA staff did not support the action.
BA hopes to fly at least 60% of customers booked for the March
20-22 period, having retrained staff to provide cover.
The union had said cabin crew would call off the strike if the
airline reinstated an offer that was withdrawn last week.
Walsh said he had put forward a new offer on Friday, which would
remain open until the strikes begin, but admitted it was lower as a
result of the costs the airline has incurred due to the planned
industrial action.
"I have made it clear to the trade union that that is an expense
that must be recovered, so the financial value of the proposal that
we have tabled is definitely not as attractive as the previous
one," he told reporters.
"Our business must make changes, and I am disappointed that the
union has not been able to see the sense of the proposal that we
tabled today."
The strike will embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour
Party, trailing in the opinion polls, and Transport Minister Andrew
Adonis urged both sides to come to a negotiated settlement.
Unite is Labour's largest financial backer and the party's strong
union ties go back to its foundation in 1900.
Unite's political director is Charlie Whelan, Brown's former
spokesman.
Opposition Conservative leader David Cameron has accused Brown of
failing to stand up to Unite and compared the situation to the
1970s, which saw periods of industrial unrest under Labour.
"When the crunch comes, he can only act in the union interest, not
in the national interest," Cameron said this week.
