| British Airways Union Gains Global Support |
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18/03/2010 15:26 (695 Day 13:52 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Unite, the union representing British Airways PLC cabin crew, has received wider backing from unions around for a walkout due to begin this weekend.
Airport workers' unions in the U.S., France and Germany have expressed solidarity with the BA staff with the leader of the U.S. union, James Hoffa, telling media that they will do whatever they have to do for making the strike a big success, according to RTT News. Hoffa who heads the U.S. International Brotherhood of Teamsters said his fellow union members were figuring out ways on how best to assist Unite.
The three-day strike, scheduled to begin on Saturday, will be followed by another four-day work stoppage from March 27 with Unite making it clear that there will be no strike during the Easter weekend, the same source informs. However, it warned of industrial action if the BA management failed to meet its demands by April 14.
U.S. union officials said they were exploring "legal options" to back the BA employees' action amid a broader international push for cooperation amid widespread industrial unrest, The Wall Street Journal reports. "There's a feeling among the BA cabin crews' colleagues in other countries and other airlines that the company isn't playing fair, and hasn't taken negotiations seriously," said Gabriel Mocho, civil aviation secretary at the International Transport Workers' Federation, or ITF.
"The result is a groundswell of support for the cabin crew and a search for ways to show it," he added, according to the same source. "Unless the dispute is resolved, we expect to see a range of lawful expressions of solidarity with the strikers from aviation workers around the world. They've had support from Unite in the past, and they're ready to help in return."
BA has said the airline will operate more flights during a three-day strike because more staff have volunteered to work, Sky News reports. After Unite announced a walkout on March 20, 21 and 22, BA published an amended Flight Schedule with the aim of carrying 60% of passengers as planned.
But the airline claims that the number of cabin crew offering to work as normal has "increased significantly" and it now has the potential to fly 4,000 more customers per day, according to the same source. A BA spokesman said it was sad to see the union attempt to get overseas backing for "unjustified strikes against an iconic British brand".
BA and Unite have been at odds for more than a year over the U.K. airline's restructuring efforts. Unite last week announced three-day and four-day strikes after the two sides failed to reach agreement on cost cuts, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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