Events | 2010.03.19
BA strike and RMT ballot - transport disruption live updates
British Airways and Unite are in last ditch talks ahead of tomorrow\'s planned three-day strike by cabin crew, as the RMT signal workers vote in favour of strike action. Follow live updates
1.42pm:
Unite is urging members of the public to support BA\'s cabin crew by attending a protest rally tomorrow at Bedfont Football Club.
"The cabin crew are in dispute with an employer at war with his workers. Come and support British Airways cabin crew," a flyer for the event says.
1.33pm:
My colleague Adam Gabbatt has been on to BA. "We don\'t give a running commentary in the status of the talks," a spokeswoman told him.
She said that if the talks succeed in averting a strike some services which had been cancelled could be reinstated. But she suggested that may be unnecessary at this late stage.
"The fact is customers have had the opportunity to take action – either their flight is still going, or we\'ve put them on another airline or they\'ve received a refund or they\'ve rebooked for a later date, so to all intents and purposes customers have had this information for several days and they\'ve taken action," the spokeswoman said.
1.21pm:
Network Rail has accused the RMT of trying to hold the country to ransom (It\'s been a good day for industrial relations lingo bingo).
Robin Gisby, its director of operations and customer services, said:
"The RMT must be disappointed with the weakness of the result with little more than a third of those balloted voting to strike.
"Despite its militancy, the RMT would be foolish to move forward with any action that would cause misery to millions of passengers and damage the recovering British economy.
"Contingency planning is well underway in the event that there is a strike but we urge the union to get back round the negotiating table and talk to us about the real issues, and stop trying to hold the country to ransom."
1.16pm:
The RMT\'s safety case against Network Rail is backed by 151 MPs in an early day motion. The Standard\'s political blogger Paul Waugh spotted that the list includes one Tory .
12.49pm:
Lance Arnt, a teacher from California, has the unenviable task of organising two school trips for 31 people from Los Angeles to Rome and Paris via BA flights to London\'s Heathrow. The original flights were cancelled.
He emails:
Our flight from LA to Heathrow is fine today, and they rebooked our flights to Rome and Paris. It was pretty stressful (actually, very stressful) for about five days, but our travel agent did a great job in working with BA.
However, half of our party going to Rome now have to fly to Zurich and then switch to SwissAir down to Rome. The other half which I am leading now have a stopover at Terminal 5 of seven hours instead of two and a half.
So, the threat of strike is giving us stress and hassle. However, by Saturday night we should be in Rome and Paris, and things should be OK. At that point I will have a good sleep, because my sleeping has been affected by all the uncertainty.
I am glad that they are still talking, because a settlement guarantees all is smooth. If there is a strike, of course, there could be some unforeseen problems.
12.45pm:
Bob Crow is giving a press conference. He says the signal workers and maintenance workers disputes are linked. He suggests there is a chance of talks with Network Rail early next week.
12.42pm:
The RMT\'s ballot has given the Conservatives another opportunity to draw parallels with the 1970s.
Shadow transport minister Theresa Villiers said:
"Bob Crow is yet again trying to drag us back to the 70s and the dying days of the last Labour government.
"As the country struggles out of the recession, the last thing we need is the unions holding the country to ransom. The timing of RMT\'s reckless and damaging strike - to coincide with an election campaign - is yet more proof that the unions are trying to capitalise on Gordon Brown\'s weak government."
12.34pm:
Strike preparations are definitely underway here, Dan Milmo texts from Sandown.
Unite has handed out an information sheet explaining your legal rights if you strike, he adds.
12.29pm:
BA passenger Martin Stewart emails:
My wife and I are BA passengers who have had their flights cancelled tomorrow. It\'s a real pain and it\'s really inconvenient. We have had to replan what we are doing and how we travel.
We always fly BA when we can and have received nothing but excellent service over the years from both the company and the staff and have nothing but praise for both. However, this a strike which I am sure both sides see as unnecessary and does their reputations no good. It only plays into the hands of those who offer no service and low wages. Both sides should resolve this quickly and not try to bludgeon each other into submission.
12.19pm:
The RMT seems to be in no hurry to call a strike. There\'s going to be a meeting next Thursday to consider what they do next, according to PA.
But the RMT\'s general secretary Bob Crow was full of fighting talk, as ever.
He said:
"Once again in this ballot RMT members have shown that they back the union\'s campaign against Network Rail\'s cuts programme and the assault on jobs and working conditions that even the government\'s own regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation, has said will have severe safety implications out on the tracks.
"Nobody should be under any illusions about just how determined RMT members are to win our fight against Network Rail\'s cuts programme and to stop this reckless gamble with rail safety.
"RMT remains committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with Network Rail based on protecting safety-critical jobs and safe working practices. With the combination of the strike mandates, political and public pressure the focus is now on the company to pull back from the brink and reverse their cuts programme."
12.17pm:
Don\'t read anything into the cancellation of the press call with Unite\'s assistant general secretary Len McCluskey, Dan Milmo texts.
It could mean entirely the opposite to a resolution. One source close to the talks said Woodley is now "keeping his cards close to his chest" as time starts to run out. BA is refusing to provide a running commentary or, indeed a live blog. Perhaps next time...
12.11pm:
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the timing of today the RMT announcement is " yet more proof that the unions are trying to capitalise on Gordon Brown\'s weak government "
12.05pm:
Only 54% of the RMT signal staff voted in favour of the strike . The transport writer Christian Wolmar told the BBC that this is a bad result for militants in the union. He said the union is now likely to try to cut a deal rather than go ahead with a national rail strike.
12.01pm:
Dan Milmo has more from Sandown:
Hundreds of BA cabin crew gathered at Sandown racecourse this morning to hear the latest on talks, which are expected to go into this afternoon.
Speaking outside Sandown\'s main hall, one female cabin service director - the rank that runs inflight service mid-air - claimed that staff would have accepted reductions in crew numbers had BA negotiated the move.
"I have had all this extra workload, doing my own job and working a trolley. I can\'t tell you how exhausted I am. But I would very happily take that role on had it been discussed. We do appreciate the climate that we are in."
BA says it gave Unite ample opportunity to negotiate changes and was forced to introduce the alterations, which do not break contractual law, because of union foot-dragging.
The changes have saved BA an estimated £62.5m and Unite is attempting to thrash out an agreement that saves the same amount of money but puts more crew members back on flights.
Another crew member, who is due to work this weekend but will strike if the eleventh hour talks fail, said: "I have never seen morale so low among employees," said the crew member, who has been at BA for 20 years.
She added: "I am a single parent but I am going on strike. We have got to do it."
Many cabin crew expressed anger at their portrayal in the media. As the RMT union prepares to announce a national signalling strike, one flight attendant said: "Do you see anyone here who looks like an RMT member? Can anyone really see police on horseback charging down Bath Road [outside Heathrow] tomorrow? No. We\'re not militant."
11.55am:
The RMT could announce strike dates later today. It would have to give a week\'s notice.
11.52am:
The RMT signal workers have voted in favour of strike action over job cuts, according to PA. More follows soon.
11.46am:
Here\'s a nice detail from Dan Milmo at Sandown. He texts to say the union meeting with the cabin crew began with a video aimed at rousing the troops. The sound track was \'Something Inside So Strong\' by Labi Siffre.
11.33am:
The budget airline Ryanair has lent BA three aircraft, but it has also taken the opportunity to put the boot in to its rival and try to pick up some new business.
Stephen McNamara, its head of communications, said:
"Ryanair has provided British Airways with three spare aircraft to minimise passenger disruption as a result of strike action by the greedy unite union. Ryanair has also launched a £69.99 rescue fare to assist BA passengers who have had flights cancelled. Air transport and travel should never be disrupted by strike action and Ryanair has offered to assist BA in any way it can.
BA\'s real problem is that its passengers have been switching away from its high fares, high fuel surcharges, frequently delayed, strike threatened flights to Ryanair\'s low fares with no fuel surcharges for years. BA is in a fight for survival and the last thing they need is strike action from a greedy union which passengers simply won\'t tolerate."
There has been a 40% increase in website traffic and flight searches in the past week as a result of the strike.
11.20am:
Still no word from the RMT on the result of the signal workers strike ballot. A spokesman for the RMT just told my colleague Adam Gabbatt that a result is expected "shortly\'.
11.00am:
I\'ve just had a chat with Dan Milmo on a crackly mobile line from Sandown.
"The talks are on a knife edge, in the balance, pick your cliche", he says.
10.57am:
In case you missed it, here\'s that BA newspaper advert. " BA is working hard to keep the flag flying," Willie Walsh says.
10.36am:
Unite has cancelled a photo opportunity it was planning at Sandown Park racecourse . Is this a sign that a resolution is in the offing? Channel 4\'s economics correspondent Faisal Islam tweets that it could be .
10.17am:
BA passenger Jenny Bach, who was due to travel tomorrow, emails to say "now is not the time to hold one of Britain\'s flagship companies to ransom".
She writes:
We had planned to travel with BA from Newcastle to London Heathrow on an early morning flight tomorrow in order to connect with a Malaysian Airways flight leaving at 10.50am.As soon as we heard of the possibility of a strike we contacted BA. We were dealt with extremely courteously, sympathetically and efficiently and our flight was changed to today. This meant that we did have the extra expense of paying for a hotel room overnight, but we felt that the peace of mind involved was worth it. To date, the original 06.20 flight is operating, but we are still glad that we changed our schedule.
We wish all parties involved in this dispute a satisfactory outcome. Much harm has already been done on all sides - to the reputations of individuals and they country - and we fear for the airline and the workers in the future.
10.00am:
Tony Woodley, sounded chipper on the way to talks with Willie Walsh at Unite\'s offices, according to PA\'s industrial correspondent Alan Jones.
Woodley said as he arrived that with goodwill on both sides, he was confident an agreement could still be reached and the action called off.
"We need common sense and we need a settlement," he said.
Woodley and Walsh spent all yesterday at the offices of the TUC, whose general secretary Brendan Barber has been trying to broker a deal for weeks.
Woodley has stressed that while discussions are continuing there is some hope, but he appealed to the airline to put back on the table an offer it withdrew last week.
The union has said it will suspend a three-day strike due to start tomorrow to give its 12,000 cabin crew members a chance to vote on the offer if BA puts it forward again.
Walsh hit out at the union\'s planned strike, saying it "will be a blow not only to our customers and to British Airways but also to Britain".
Unite is planning a second, four-day strike from March 27 and has warned of further walkouts from April 14 if the row over cost cutting and job losses is not resolved.
9.29am:
Our transport correspondent Dan Milmo has the latest from a Unite meeting. He just filed this from his BlackBerry:
This morning Tony Woodley, Unite\'s joint general secretary, met representatives of the union\'s flight attendant branches, Bassa and cabin crew 89, to update them on the talks. However, with discussions going to the wire, BA cabin crew attending a Unite-hosted meeting this morning at Sandown race course could leave the gathering none the wiser as to whether they are striking tomorrow.
Observers say that if Woodley irons out the remaining differences with Walsh, believed to centre on disciplinary procedures against 38 BA staff and plans to put new cabin crew recruits on a separate fleet, then it is possible he could suspend the strikes. However, that would lead to a tempestuous meeting at Sandown, with Woodley\'s deputy, assistant general secretary Len McCluskey, due to attend. McCluskey, the lead negotiator in talks until Woodley stepped in this week, will hold a press briefing at 1pm at Sandown.
9.18am:
Unite is planning to hold a mass meeting of cabin crew at Sandown Park racecourse in Surrey to rally the workers ahead of the strike.
Even if there is progress on talks today (and that\'s a big if) it will be too late to reinstate some of the flights cancelled this weekend .
This is worth a listen. The Guardian\'s business podcast asks how damaging the strike will be to BA and the government.
Industrial relations expert Gregor Gall argues that BA is out to bust the union.
He writes:
"In industrial relations jargon, this is a classic "reforming conflict". The employer engages in a set-piece showdown, inflicts a massive defeat on the union, divides the workforce and thus re-orders the power relations between management and union."
9am:
" Transport chaos in the run-up to Easter" looks a distinct possibility.
BA and the Unite trade union continue to wrangle over a compromise deal . The last ditch talks started badly, according to our transport correspondent, Dan Milmo.
British Airways placed a full page advert in national newspapers today, in which chief executive Willie Walsh says his door "remains open" to Unite.
The union states its case here .
Meanwhile, a national rail strike also appears to be looming. Maintenance workers have already voted to strike over working and staff cuts and we are expected to hear today whether signal workers will be joining them. Talks between the RMT and Network Rail to avert a strike by signal workers ended in failure earlier this week. The result of an RMT ballot is expected at 11am today.
Are you planning to travel with BA over weekend? If you are please share your experiences. What\'s it been like getting information from the company? Have you been forced to switch airlines? Have you tried claiming insurance?
And how would a national rail strike affect you?
Please let us know in the comments section below, or email me at matthew.weaver@guardian.co.uk .
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/mar/19/ba-strike-and-rmt-ballot
