Union battles BA owner over its £890m bid
The owner of British Airways has been referred by trade union leaders to the european competition watchdog over its 1bn euro (£890m) takeover of a Spanish airline.
In the latest escalation of a row over jobs and pay cuts, the Unite union is attempting to block BA parent company IAG from acquiring Air europa.
It has informed eU Commissioner for Competition Magrethe Vestager that it intends to act as a third party to oppose the deal, which was struck between Spanish airline Iberia and Air europa in November last year – before the coronavirus crisis hit. Like BA, Iberia is owned by IAG.
Unite added that it is now in talks with competition officials at the european Commission, who will be investigating. Sharon Graham, executive officer at the union, said: ‘Unite is questioning why IAG is seeking to fire and rehire the workforce at BA while parent IAG ploughs ahead with buying an airline for over 1bn euros. There are a number of reasons why this merger of Iberia with Air europa would appear to be anti-competitive.’
She added: ‘We are confident that we have a strong case and we look forward to officially presenting all our evidence.’
Air europa would be IAG’s third Spanish airline, on top of Iberia and Vueling. The acquisition would boost its share of flights to Latin America and the Caribbean.
But Unite said it had identified a number of serious competition concerns about the Air europa takeover, including that it would give the group a monopolistic hold over the Spanish domestic market, and increase its domination of the market for flights from europe to South America. But Unite’s real concern is BA’s treatment of staff in the UK.
BA has announced plans to cut up to 12,000 staff in drastic bid to save money during the crisis, which it says has been costing it £20m a day. It has served employees with section 188 notices, warning them that their pay and perks could be drastically cut even if they survive the cull. Veteran crew have complained of facing pay cuts of as much as 70pc.
This has sparked a backlash in Westminster, with the Conservative head of the house of Commons Transport Committee huw Merriman attempting to whip up support to oppose BA’s actions.
Aviation minister Kelly Tolhurst committed to a review of BA’s lucrative landing slots at heathrow following a Parliamentary question raised by Merriman.
IAG declined to comment last night, but chief executive Willie Walsh recently defended its acquisition of IAG.
he told Sky News that Iberia is separate from BA and ‘not a single penny of British Airways money will go towards that acquisition’, adding: ‘If the Iberia/Air europa merger goes ahead, it’s not going to in any way impact on the people at British Airways.’