British Airways staff to retrain as flight attendants

News added by AdeelMinhas under Airline News

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has called for staff to start retraining as cabin crew from Tuesday as the dispute between the union and the airline descends into deeper turmoil.The move by the airline’s chief executive came as the union, Unite, representing 13,000 of its cabin crew said it planned to launch a new strike ballot after the last one, expected to run for 12 days over the Christmas peak travel period, was ruled as illegal by the High Court.

The development means that staff could legally strike from March 1, forcing Walsh to issue an internal staff memo, calling for volunteers to back BA by training to work alongside their cabin crew who choose not to participate in the strike.

Industrial relations experts say that the request is perfectly legal and is not unusual for transport companies.But, it is not as likely in the airline industry and could present some big challenges for staff who agree to re-train and dare to cross picket lines.

Unite have reacted with hostility towards the move, saying that it was inconceivable that BA should even think of running its airline with scab labour who have had only minimum training.

The escalation in tensions has dashed hopes of a resolution on the dispute over BA’s decision to alter working conditions by reducing the number of staff on long-haul flights by at least one, and a two year pay freeze.The two sides are due back in court at the beginning of next month where the hearing into the matter will continue.

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