British Airways has angered the unions yet again after placing an advert for 1,250 Heathrow cabin crew at lower salaries than existing staff.
The airline said the ad was the start of a major recruitment drive that would see 40% of its cabin crew working under the new, lower salary structure within 10 years.
A spokesman said the new recruits would be paid less than half the salaries currently paid to long-haul crew at Heathrow.
They would earn about £13,800, while at Heathrow crew earn up to £35,000 on long-haul flights and £26,000 for short-haul.
“It’s not some wild new departure. They will be on a very similar salary to existing Gatwick staff,†said the spokesman.
He said under the new contracts Heathrow cabin crew would fly a mixture of short and long-haul flights, rather than choose one or the other.
The move would bring Heathrow costs in line with competitors, BA said.
But cabin crew union, Unite, said the advert would do nothing to persuade its members that BA was looking to resolve the long-running dispute.
Earlier this week Unite said it would call a fresh strike ballot among cabin crew to disrupt services over the August holidays.
* Do you think BA is justified in cutting its salary costs? Tell us your views by clicking on ADD A COMMENT below
By Bev Fearis
