Brown condemns 'deplorable' BA strike

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said yesterday the planned seven days of industrial action could put the future of the airline at risk, calling the walk-outs "totally unjustified".

The dispute has embroiled the Government in an extraordinary row with the country's biggest union Unite, one of Labour's biggest donors.

Asked in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour whether Lord Adonis was right, Mr Brown said: "I agree. It is the wrong time, it is unjustified, it is deplorable, we shouldn't have a strike.

"It is not in the company's interest, it is not in the workers' interest and it is certainly not in the national interest.

"I hope that this strike will be called off."

Mr Brown said he hoped that there would be developments today which would allow the BA management and unions to return to talks.

"We have got to find a way in which the two sides can get together - the BA management and the BA workforce," the Prime Minister told Woman's Hour.

"I hope that things that are in hand today will lead to the sides talking and finding some resolution for this problem, which emerged at the end of last week but had roots in a lot of the negotiations over a long period of time.

"They were pretty close to an agreement at the end of last week and then it didn't work.

"Having said that, the strike is both regrettable and not acceptable, I think it is worthy of effort to try and prevent it."

Lord Adonis yesterday became the first minister to speak out against the proposed strike.

He appealed to Unite to return to the negotiating table in an attempt to avert the industrial action planned to begin with a three-day strike from next Saturday, followed by a four-day stoppage from the following weekend.

BA is expected to give details today of how flights will be affected if the strikes go ahead to give "more certainty" to its customers.

Lord Adonis told BBC1's Andrew Marr show yesterday: "The impact this will have will not only be deeply damaging on passengers, it will ... threaten the very existence of British Airways.

"It's totally unjustified, the strike, on the merits of the issues at stake. I do call on the union to engage constructively with the company at this late stage."

Unite accused the Transport Secretary of being "badly informed" about the long-running dispute, adding that he should be urging the airline to reinstate an offer it withdrew last week.

Privately, union officials were said to be "livid" with Lord Adonis, one saying he had "blundered" into the dispute without knowing all the facts.

It is understood that the union made representations to 10 Downing Street about the minister's intervention.

A Unite spokesman said: "Lord Adonis appears badly informed. We all want to avoid strike action and Unite is always ready to negotiate. Unite was preparing to put BA's offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes.

"However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation. Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table. Should they do so, there is still a possibility of peace.

"If Lord Adonis is not prepared to speak out, he risks being seen as taking the part of a bullying and intransigent management."

Conservatives claim the Government is unwilling to condemn the union's actions because of the money it gives to Labour.

Tory chairman Eric Pickles wrote to the Prime Minister yesterday calling for him to unequivocally condemn the strike and suspend the party's financial relationship with Unite until the dispute is settled.

"In the face of this reckless action, you are giving the impression of siding with the union. Since you became Prime Minister, 11 million or 25% of your funding has come from Unite.

"How can you talk about protecting jobs and beating the recession when you are so reliant on this increasingly militant union that is intent on bringing a British company to its knees?"

A BA spokesman welcomed the comments by Lord Adonis, adding: "We agree with his position that the strike is disproportionate and unjustified.

"BA is facing two years of record financial losses. Unlike other businesses, we have avoided compulsory redundancies and made changes designed to secure the long-term future for our company and our staff.

"Cabin crew face no pay cut or reductions in their terms and conditions and remain the best rewarded in the UK airline industry."

BA said it remained available for further talks "at any time", but added it was doing everything it could to protect its customers' travel plans.