Unite has reportedly threatened to launch strike action against
British Airways over the airline’s alleged plan to fire and rehire staff if an
agreement on up to 12,000 job cuts cannot be reached.
BA announced in April that it would have to make
redundancies in order to save money and survive the long-term crisis brought on
by the coronavirus pandemic. The airline has been in consultation with its
employee unions since then, but it has been in a stand-off with Unite for several
weeks.
The union revealed that staff were warned they faced being
handed their notices and having to re-apply for their jobs under reduced
contractual conditions, including potentially significant pay cuts.
BA owner International Airlines Group has repeatedly said
the issue is a matter for the airline, with CEO Willie Walsh telling the
Transport Select Committee in May that the carrier must restructure to survive “the
greatest crisis the industry has ever faced”. BA has yet to make any statements
on its plans.
Now the BBC says it has seen a letter sent to BA chief
executive Alex Cruz by Unite general secretary Len McCluskey which accuses Cruz
of “arrogance” in his negotiations with the union.
According to the BBC, the letter reads: “You have now
published a timetable to fire and rehire thousands of your workforce on 7
August.
“We will work every hour between now and then to convince
you not to do so.
“You can take this letter as our commitment to do that.
However, you can also take this as an intention to defend our members by moving
towards industrial action with immediate effect.”