British Airways cabin crew vote for more strike action

British Airways cabin crew have voted for four more days of strike action.

The latest action in a long-running pay and benefits row will start on 16 June, with BA saying the crew’s pay and rewards are in line with competitors.

Unite said the action is about benefits not being reinstated for crew who took part in earlier industrial action.

The news ends a turbulent week for BA, which suffered an IT failure which left 75,000 passengers stranded over the bank holiday weekend.

The airline called the new strike “completely unnecessary” and said it will still fly all customers to their destinations. In previous strike action, the airline has managed to minimise delays and cancellations.

A British Airways spokeswoman said: “We had reached a deal on pay, which Unite’s national officers agreed was acceptable. We urge Unite to put the pay propos- als to a vote of their members.”

Members who are on the airline’s mixed-fleet agreements, represented by the Unite union, have staged 26 strike days over the course of the disagreement.

The Unite union said the new strikes had come about because the airline had treated staff who had participated in earlier strike action unfairly, by not reinstating their travel concessions which offers them discounted travel on the airline.

Howard Beckett, Unite’s assistant general secretary for legal services, said: “In an airline of the size and status of BA, passengers want to know staff are treated with respect.

“Punishing staff for using legitimate industrial means to reach a wage deal is a culture that Unite cannot accept and a culture that will ultimately damage the BA brand. “

The union said around 2,900 cabin crew were on the mixed fleet agreement, which operates on both short and long-haul routes. In previous strike action, the airline has managed to minimise delays and cancellations.