British Airways cabin crew to stage four-day strike
Unite says BA wants to "punish" members seeking a pay deal, while the airline describes the walkout as "completely unnecessary".
Friday 2 June 2017 20:43, UK
British Airways cabin crew are set to strike for four days as part of a pay dispute.
Unite members will walk out from 16 June after union leaders and BA management failed to reach a breakthrough in the deadlocked row.
There have already been several days of industrial action over the pay of staff in the so-called mixed fleet, which joined the airline in recent years.
An offer aimed at ending the dispute was rejected last week.
Unite said the planned walkout was prompted by BA's "persistent refusal to restore the travel concessions that airline management had withdrawn from those who took part in strike action".
Spokesman Howard Beckett said: "It is disappointing that BA is taking such an approach when we are close to bringing this dispute to a conclusion.
"BA is almost alone among the employers this union has dealt with in that they can accept the case for a pay deal but want to punish the very people who made the case."
In a statement, BA described the strike as "completely unnecessary".
It said: "We had reached a deal on pay, which Unite's national officers agreed was acceptable.
"We urge Unite to put the pay proposals to a vote of their members."
The row comes as BA deals with the aftermath of a computer failure which grounded hundreds of flights at the weekend.
The disruption affected 75,000 passengers and reports suggest the airline could face a compensation bill of up to £150m.
BA has denied a union claim linking the IT meltdown to the outsourcing of work to India.
The airline has been accused by the insurance industry of after it advised that "in the first instance" they should claim against their insurance policies.