British Airways considers legal action against union

Airport news for Flights,Travel on 17/12/2009.

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British Airways (BA) is now looking at means to counteract the potential devastating effect of the planned 12-day strike by the airline’s employees. Among the possible options being considered by the top management are the reshuffling of flight schedules and possible legal action against Unite, the cabin crew's union.

About a million BA passengers are faced with the prospect of having their trips cancelled during the strike that will be staged from December 22 until January 2. The UK national air carrier also warned that flights 48hrs before and after the stoppage might also be affected if Unite decides to go ahead with the strike.

A spokesman from BA said that details of the rescheduled flights will be announced as soon as possible. He informed as well that passengers can rebook, reroute or refund any cancelled flight.

But while BA has not ruled out legal action against the union, the spokesman stressed that no definite action has yet been taken by the BA management. He further added that no talks have so far been scheduled though both parties had earlier called for more meetings.

The planned strike was due to BA's decision to reduce the number of cabin crew in long haul flights from 15 to 14. Unite argues that BA should had consulted the airline staff regarding the new policy before it was implemented.

The union has already taken legal action against BA, with the case trial due to be heard early next year. But the airline company, which is also seeking redundancies, informed that it would not back down on its position.

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