Brown says BA strike ‘unjustified and deplorable’
16.03.10
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a planned strike by British Airways cabin crew is ‘unjustified and deplorable’. The strike also comes at ‘the wrong time’, he told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. Later Lord Adonis, transport secretary, also said in the House of Lords that ‘passengers should not be held to ransom’ by the Unite union. Unite said yesterday that it was for BA to make the next move to ensure further talks take place, which seems increasingly unlikely.
The dispute, over reduced staffing levels and pay at the airline, will see the first three day strike start on March 20, with a second four day walkout due to begin on 27 March. This second strike coincides with the Easter break for the majority of independent schools, beginning on March 26, and threatens to disrupt family getaways.
With a general election looming, Mr Brown's comments are a rare direct intervention in an industrial dispute that involves one of his party's biggest donors. He said: ‘We should not have a strike. It's not in the company's interest, it's not in the workers' interest and it's certainly not in the national interest. We have got to find a way in which the two sides can get together.’
Lord Adonis called on ‘the union to lift the threat of a strike and get back to the negotiating table’. His comments in Parliament echo his weekend remarks that a strike would ‘threaten the very existence’ of BA. However, Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, condemned what he said were Government attacks on union members.
Mr Woodley said in an interview with BBC Radio 4's World at One: ‘I don't blame our PM for trying to help bring together parties to resolve the dispute. But it is rather unfortunate that the government of all shapes and sizes always want to kick the unions and kick the employees when in actual fact it's my members who've been kicked here.’ He called on BA to reinstate an offer made on March 11, which the airline withdrew when strike dates were announced, saying it could no longer afford the concessions it promised.
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