Union and BA dispute strike affects
21.03.10
As the British Airways cabin crew strike enterers its second day, both sides disagreed about how effective the action has been. Unite said half of BA's 250 planes had been grounded on the first day of the three-day stoppage, BA's Terminal 5 at Heathrow was like a ‘ghost town’ and the airline's contingency plans were failing passengers. But BA said it had managed not only to fly all those services scheduled during the strike, but also to reinstate a number of flights as more staff had turned up to work than expected.
BA has described the union's claims about the strike's effect as 'rubbish'. In a video posted on BA's website and on You Tube, BA CEO Willie Walsh said the atmosphere at Terminal 5 today was ‘very positive’, with ‘very good’ numbers of cabin crew turning up for work. He said 97% of crew had turned up to Gatwick on Saturday, with over 50% working at Heathrow, and the numbers on Sunday ‘were even better’.
The airline said it has reinstated eight cancelled long-haul flights from Heathrow, including services to Miami, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, New York JFK and Cape Town, as well as 18 short-haul services from Heathrow and Gatwick this weekend. Many flights are operating because BA has hired in aircraft and crew from other carriers. Passengers who were not able to fly with BA, or on one of its special charters, have been offered seats with 60 rival airlines.
Speaking on the second day of the strike, Unite's Brian Boyd said: 'We are holding firm. We want a resolution to this dispute but we have been forced into a position where today, and tomorrow, we are going to continue with industrial action.' When asked about options after the strike, he said it was 'in the best interests of both the company and its employees' to hold talks to avert further industrial action.
Only one in four voters support the strike, according to a poll of 1,002 adults carried by ICM for BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme.
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