Union Unite has announced its intention to ballot British Airways (BA) cabin crew members on possible strike action in January.
The ballot will last for a month, starting on December 21 and ending on January 21, 2011.
A spokesperson for BA said: “Industrial action would be a grossly disproportionate response to the issues that Unite continues to press.”
In a statement, Unite listed a number of outstanding issues, which it is calling on BA to resolve.
The first is the “immediate restoration” of full staff travel concessions. Travel perks were taken away from any cabin crew who took part in a walk-out.
Unite also wants “binding arbitration” through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service for all cabin crew disciplinary cases related to the original dispute.
Another point of contention for Unite is that cabin crew who were genuinely off sick during strike dates have had their pay docked. The union wants the restoration of all such earnings.
Tony Woodley, Unite’s joint general secretary, called on British Airways to “do what it must” to end the dispute.
He said the outstanding issues are “not cost issues for the airline and are about treating cabin crew with dignity, respect and ending the climate of persecution”.
"Unite is still open to talks,” said Woodley, “but BA must appreciate the strength of feeling across the airline about how badly they've handled this dispute. BA must get serious and work with us to settle the issues."
BA, however, has called Unite’s behavior “dysfunctional”, after it struck a deal with BA in October and then reneged on it.
The BA spokesperson said: “The union agreed last week to hold further talks with us, but has instead issued a strike ballot. It continues to be driven by internal divisions.
“We have put forward very fair proposals that enable our existing Heathrow crew to remain the best rewarded in the UK airline industry. Despite the difficult economic conditions we have faced, we have made savings in ways that have avoided compulsory redundancies.”