“Thousands of staff opt for pay cut” – BA
Around 7,000 British Airways staff have agreed to voluntary pay cuts following an appeal by the cash-strapped airline.
BA's ceo Willie Walsh last night (June 25) said 6,940 staff, or 17% of the airline's workforce, would help achieve as much as £10m in savings.
He said: "This response clearly shows the significant difference individuals can make."
Airline staff will also have the option to volunteer for the unpaid leave, part-time or unpaid work programme later in the year, Mr Walsh said.
Last week, BA called on its 40,000-strong workforce to work for nothing for up to a month (see ABTN news June 17).
Of the 6,940 volunteers, 800 will work for no pay for periods of up to one month, reports said today.
The airline, which made the plea in its in-house newspaper British Airways News, said it was facing a flight for survival.
The UK national carrier posted a worse than expected annual pre-tax loss of £401m last month.
Willie Walsh, the carrier's ceo, has already said he will forego his monthly payment of £61,000 in July.
Keith Williams, its chief financial officer, has said he will also not take his a salary for the four weeks.
Mr Walsh said in the BA publication: "I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan. It really counts."
But while BA said its request had been greeted positively by staff, unions which are already in talks with the airline over possible pay freezes and redundancies, have condemned it.
A spokesman for Unite, the biggest union at the airline, was quoted as saying: "Willie Walsh can afford to work for nothing, our members can't."
Unions negotiating with BA which includes Unite and the pilots' union Balpa, have been told the airline wants agreement by the end of June.
Broadly the airline is seeking about 2,000 redundancies from its 14,000 cabin crew.
It is also seeking some redundancies from its pilots.
www.ba.com