BA cabin crew begin new strikes

PICKET lines were mounted at Heathrow Airport today as British Airways cabin crew launched the first of a wave of strikes which threatens to disrupt flights for weeks.

The walkout by members of the Unite union went ahead after hopes of a last-minute deal collapsed, with the two sides engaged in a war of words.

The row continued today, with Tony Woodley, Unite's joint leader, accusing BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh, of wanting "regime change" in the union's cabin crew branch, Bassa.

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Mr Woodley said BA had achieved its original aim of cutting 1,700 cabin crew jobs, but had since "broadened" the dispute.

"Those savings are in the bank. This dispute has been broadened, so this is not just about cost downs, it is about regime change. It is personal because of the dislike and trust of the branch."

Mr Woodley told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the strike would have been suspended if BA had accepted an offer he made yesterday to call off the action if the airline returned travel concessions to staff who took part in strikes in March.

BA said it was concentrating on its contingency plans to deal with the five days of action this week, pledging to carry 70% of its customers.

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The airline has accused Mr Woodley of negotiating via the media rather than through the conciliation service Acas and pointed the finger of blame at the union for failing to continue with talks yesterday.

In a statement, the company said it had agreed to a request from Acas to meet during the afternoon and was "surprised" that Unite did not do likewise.

It added: "We have already offered to reinstate travel concessions to cabin crew once all elements of our offer have been implemented.

"Of more concern to us is Tony Woodley's comment to the media that he wants to revisit certain proposals in our offer, when previously he had indicated that these were agreed.

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"This position reinforces our view that Bassa (the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association), at the centre of this dispute, is not serious in trying to come to a negotiated agreement with British Airways - and that Tony cannot control Bassa."

BA has also attacked Unite's joint leader, Derek Simpson, for giving a "running commentary" on his Twitter account of talks at Acas on Saturday.

Mr Walsh said he was "shocked and angry" over Mr Simpson's behaviour.

The airline said its priority now was helping customers caught in the middle of the dispute, adding that its focus would be on flying tens of thousands of passengers in the coming days despite the strike.

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"All flights at London Gatwick and London City will operate as normal.

At Heathrow we expect to operate more than 60% of long-haul services and more than 50% of short-haul flights and we will add to that schedule where we can."

Mr Woodley said yesterday that there was an agreement in principle to end the bitter dispute, and that "good progress" had been made in talks at Acas before they had to be abandoned amid scenes of chaos.

Scores of members of the Socialist Workers Party invaded the talks and surrounded Mr Woodley and Mr Walsh, who hurriedly left the building via a rear exit yesterday evening.

Mr Woodley said the incident had been "catastrophic" for the talks.

The union is planning two further five-day strikes, including a walkout during the school half-term next week.

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