{"id":23017,"date":"2020-07-31T12:24:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T11:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=23017"},"modified":"2020-08-03T14:33:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T13:33:19","slug":"drop-opportunistic-fire-and-rehire-plans-urges-unite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=23017","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Drop opportunistic \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 urges Unite"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Despite its\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 actions and plans to sack 12,000 staff and to cut the wages of a further 30,000 workers being roundly condemned by Unite, the public, the Labour Party, and more besides, British Airways still shows no attempt to resolve this move that could well destroy the employment standards and opportunities for thousands of workers and their families.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a recent Parliamentary PMQs debate<\/a> (July 15) Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer raised the plight of British Airways\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 workers, and called on the prime minister to act \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by withdrawing valuable landing slots from BA until they agree to reverse their plans.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI want to press the Prime Minister further on the situation at BA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a huge employer and the national flag carrier,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Starmer said at PMQs. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlongside the 12,000 redundancies already announced, BA is trying to force through the rehiring of the remaining 30,000 workers on worse terms and conditions. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally unacceptable and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a warning shot to millions of other working people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

PM Boris Johnson refused to commit to revising British Airways\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 landing slots, saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe cannot I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m afraid Mr Speaker simply with a magic wand ensure that every single job that was being done before the crisis is retained after the crisis.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The government has still so far failed to commit to any action against British Airways, despite a poll of over 2,000 people, including over 1,219 BA passengers across the UK, revealing that 69 per cent of all those surveyed believed the government should review the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s current arrangements on landing slots (versus just 16 per cent saying the government should not) with 76 per cent of Conservative voters backing a review.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unite has accused<\/a> BA of using a global health pandemic as cover to impose its\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 long-term \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plans. According to the Survation poll, a huge 70 per cent of those polled believe BA is wrong to terminate staff and re-employ them on reduced terms and conditions in the middle of a health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Responding to British Airways\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 quarterly results issued today (Friday July 31), Unite general secretary Len McCluskey has urged the company to step back from its opportunistic ‘fire and rehire’ plans which could send thousands of dedicated employees to the dole queue.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere can be no doubt that this crisis is having a profound impact on the aviation sector,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 commented Len McCluskey.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut as Willie Walsh himself reveals today, there is clear light at the end of this tunnel with BA looking to recover\u00c2\u00a0gradually starting\u00c2\u00a0now with full health restored in around two to three years.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098No need for drastic action\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bGiven this, we say again to Mr Walsh that there is evidently no need to embark on this drastic course of fire and rehire, ripping up the contracts of 42,000 workers, raiding the wages of staff, and\u00c2\u00a0sending 12,000 loyal workers to the dole queue.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCluskey continued with the key point that, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo other employer in the aviation sector is pursuing this course of industrial vandalism.\u00c2\u00a0 Competitor\u00c2\u00a0airlines are taking a responsible longer-term view, bringing their workforces with them through\u00c2\u00a0short-term wage cuts with pledge to return wages to pre-Covid levels at the earliest opportunity.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBA is fortunate.\u00c2\u00a0Its parent company can afford to make better choices.\u00c2\u00a0It has billions in the bank and even plans to expand by purchasing another airline, Air Europa, which is hardly the act of a business on its knees.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has also chosen not to attack the workforces of the other airlines in its group\u00c2\u00a0such as Iberia and Aer Lingus.\u00c2\u00a0 We cannot therefore see its\u00c2\u00a0assault on the workers of BA as anything other than a deliberate and opportunistic decision to reshape the airline\u00c2\u00a0for the financial benefit of the boardroom.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consequences <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIAG has to accept that its decisions have consequences.\u00c2\u00a0Slashing its UK workforce by 30 per cent when there are alternative routes open to the company\u00c2\u00a0is not consistent with its responsibilities as\u00c2\u00a0the national carrier, which is why it is only correct that over 170\u00c2\u00a0MPs are saying that BA cannot hang onto lucrative slots at Heathrow and elsewhere.\u00c2\u00a0Slots should go to those airlines dedicated to investing and growing in this country.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unite is emphatic in its call \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this needless action cannot happen.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAgain, we urge BA and Willie Walsh to step back from this needless and destructive course of action,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey insists.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis airline has built its phenomenal wealth and power on the hard work and dedication of its staff and the loyalty of its customers.\u00c2\u00a0 Willie Walsh and Alex Cruz are\u00c2\u00a0trashing both along with\u00c2\u00a0a once great\u00c2\u00a0airline,\u00c2\u00a0causing havoc right across the aviation sector.\u00c2\u00a0 This is irresponsible and unnecessary\u00c2\u00a0and Unite\u00c2\u00a0will do all we can to prevent it.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

SHARE: <\/em><\/strong>Twitter:\u00c2\u00a0@BABetrayal,\u00c2\u00a0Facebook:\u00c2\u00a0Facebook.com\/BAbetrayal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compiled by Amanda Campbell @amanda_unite\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite its\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 actions and plans to sack 12,000 staff and to cut the wages of a further 30,000 workers being roundly condemned by Unite, the public, the Labour Party, and more besides, British Airways still shows no attempt to resolve this move that could well destroy the employment standards and opportunities for thousands of workers and their families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,1214],"tags":[1205,390,1295,126,1318],"wps_subtitle":"BA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s short-termism causing havoc in UK aviation","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23017"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23017"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23021,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23017\/revisions\/23021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}