Story ID: GPbastrike07052017
British Airways Cabin Crew Call Another Strike
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: United union argues plan to wet lease A320s from Qatar Airways a breach of EU regulations
Word Count: 305
Members of British Airways’ cabin crew union on Wednesday announced plans for another 14-day strike in an escalation in their dispute over pay and what they call the sanctioning of striking workers.

The latest strike runs from July 19 through August 1, leaving just three days of labor peace between the end of the current strike action, which began on July 1, and the upcoming one.

As part of the dispute, the Unite union has launched legal action against the government’s decision to give British Airways approval to wet-lease nine Airbus A320-family narrowbodies from Qatar Airways to cover capacity lost to the strikes. A dispute between Qatar and several of its Persian Gulf neighbors that effectively banned flights between the emirate and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egpyt have left those airplanes idle. The union argues that the lease of aircraft and cabin crew from Qatar Airways breaches European regulations.

 “Today’s announcement of a further escalation underlines the determination of our members in their fight for better pay and against British Airways’ bullying behavior,” said the national officer of Unite, Oliver Richardson.

“We are seeing strong support for the ongoing strike action. The time and money British Airways is spending on wet leasing aircraft and bullying striking cabin crew are resources that could easily settle this dispute," he added. “It’s high time British Airways stopped spending millions defending low pay and its bullying approach by negotiating a settlement to this long running dispute.”  

Since 2010 all new British Airways cabin crew employees join what the airline calls a “mixed fleet,” where basic pay starts at just £12,192 ($15,768) with £3 per hour of flying pay, according to the union. Unite estimates that on average mixed fleet cabin crew earn £16,000 a year, including benefits.