LONDON – British Airways may train cleaners and baggage handlers as cabin crew in a bid to thwart a strike threat.
A new strike ballot of British Airways cabin crew is to be held next week.
Around one million passengers could see their Easter travel plans ruined if the Unite union organises a 12-day strike in April.
British Airways boss Willie Walsh, in a letter to all BA workers, called last night for volunteers “to back BA by training to work alongside cabin crew who choose not to support a strike, so we are ready to keep our customers flying as much as we can if this strike goes ahead”.
The decision by the Unite union to hold a fresh vote in a week’s time on possible strike action came after more than a week of talks with the airline failed to resolve the dispute over staff levels and working conditions.
Industrial action planned for Christmas was blocked after a court granted an injunction, declaring it illegal
Unite will ballot its 12,000 members which make up 98% of the airline’s cabin crew.
A spokeswoman for the union said Unite had gone as far as it could in the talks to meet the airline’s demands but the ball was now in BA’s court.
