BA targets employee perks in strike

January 23, 2010 - 0 comments

London -- British Airways has warned that cabin crew employees who stage a strike will lose access to such perks such as 90 percent discounts on airfares.

The warning was issued Friday by Bill Francis, BA's head of cabin crew, as the employees were preparing to take a strike vote starting Monday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The newspaper said another much-coveted employee perk under threat is a program giving cabin crew members access to one set of free tickets to anywhere on the BA network after five years of service. Francis also reportedly warned that any staffers who went on strike would also lose pay and associated days off for any flights they missed.

Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite union, told The Guardian the warning on staff travel perks was an act of "pettiness," adding, "Whoever dreamt up this scheme is presumably trying to inflame the situation. Managers who are macho generally aren't macho. More talking and less posturing will resolve this dispute."

The strike voting is expected to close Feb. 22 with the earliest possible date for a strike action coming March 1. The Guardian said a poll of union members indicates strong support for a strike.