New threat of action against British Airways

BA passengers face yet another round of strikes.

Travel Insurance News - 24/01/2011

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Passengers on British Airways face a new round of strike action by cabin crew. Union members backed industrial action in the latest ballot by the Unite union.

Unite has yet to announce when the next wave of strikes might take place. Speculation is mounting that travel on BA could be disrupted during the half-term and Easter breaks, however.

The threat of yet more industrial action by members of the Unite union has sparked off a political row. Unite is the biggest financial backer of the Labour party.

In another industrial dispute, Unite is also balloting tanker drivers. The aviation minister, Theresa Villiers, has attacked the union.

Ms Villiers, a Conservative MP, rounded on the Labour party over the threat of action by Unite. She criticized Unite, whom she described as ‘Ed Milliband’s union paymasters’, for threatening major travel chaos for British travellers.

Over the weekend, it remained unclear what form new industrial action against BA could take. Unite leader Len McCluskey was calling for more negotiations.

Last year, British Airways was hit by 22 days of industrial action. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and the airline lost around £150 million as a result of the industrial action.

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