Strike take off

Business flyers using London’s City airport face severe disruption when award winning cabin crew working for CityJet strike for five days in a dispute over proposed pay cuts of up to 50 per cent.

The walkouts by 36-strong cabin crew are due to start on Thursday 20 October. The move comes after the Unite members voted by 84 per cent for strike action on an array of issues including roster agreements, pay and allowances.

The five days of discontinuous strike action are due to start at 05:00 on 20 October, concluding at 23:59 hours on 21 October.

Strike action will start again at 05:00 on 24 October, ending at 22:00 hours on 26 October.

A major factor is the loss of overnight allowances in Amsterdam once the airline opens a base in the Dutch city, along with the impact of lost income from the reduction in flights.

Unite – the country’s largest union – is seeking compensation for the loss of earnings and a guarantee of job security given the changes that the Dublin-based company is proposing.

The union says it is ironic that the cabin crew are the European Regions Airline Association (ERAA) Airline of the Year Cabin Crew. The ERAA represents 52 airlines across Europe.

‘Modest incomes’

Unite regional officer Jo Jaques said: “Our award winning cabin crew members are on modest incomes and they rely on the allowances to boost their wages.

“The strike will cause severe disruption to the mainly business travellers who use London’s City airport.

“The fact that Unite members in Dublin have also been forced to take industrial action because of the company’s refusal to go to the Irish Labour Court indicates a worrying pattern of behaviour by CityJet.

“It is our view that the company is not taking its employees’ position seriously.

‘Serious proposals’

“We call on CityJet to come up with serious proposals to address the members’ concerns and recognise that the hardworking cabin crew have to live near City airport to get to work on time.

“The management needs to recognise that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.”

The strike action coincides with limited industrial action being taken by CityJet pilots represented by Unite in Dublin.

There the company has refused to refer issues in dispute to the Irish Labour Court, contrary to an agreement between CityJet and the union.

The company has also threatened to terminate its agreement with the Ireland region of Unite in respect of both pilot and cabin crew representation – effectively seeking to deny Unite members the right to collective representation by a union of their choice.

CityJet, which has a 25-strong fleet, flies from London to a number of European cities, including Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, Nantes, Paris (Orly), and Rotterdam.