British Airways’ ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew working out of Heathrow have announced a fresh wave of strikes, union Unite has said.
Members of the union working on long and short haul flights will walkout for three days from January 19.
The action follows a 48-hour strike last week and is a long-running dispute over pay. Workers claim they are underpaid and dispute the airline’s claim that staff are paid a minimum of £21,000 a year through pay, bonuses and incentives.
British Airways has described the call for strike action as “bizarre” and “completely without justification”.
“We have spent many days in negotiation and agreed a deal with Unite’s general secretary, Len McCluskey, before Christmas – but the Mixed Fleet Unite branch refused to recommend it and said it had been rejected on the basis of an online poll that lacked control over who voted or how many times an individual could vote,” it said in a statement.
The airline is expected to publish a revised schedule.
Last week’s strike only hit a small number of flights with BA reassuring passengers that all passengers would be able to reach their destination.
Unite claims that low levels of pay at the UK’s national carrier are forcing mixed fleet cabin crew to take second jobs to “make ends meet or turn up to work unfit” because they can't afford to take time off.
“British Airways should be under no illusion about our members’ determination to secure a settlement that addresses their concerns over poverty pay,” said Unite national officer Oliver Richardson.
He added: “We would urge British Airways to avoid the inconvenience and disruption of industrial action by meaningfully addressing levels of poverty pay which are causing financial worry and distress to ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew.”
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