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Unite gives BA seven days' notice of strike ballot

Direct News Source

14-Dec-2010 Unite, Britain's biggest union, has given British Airways seven days notice of its intention to ballot cabin crew members on strike action.

The ballot will begin on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 and will close on Friday, January 21st, 2011.

Unite's strike ballot is over the following outstanding issues:

1. The immediate restoration of staff travel concessions, in full, to the crew from whom they were taken by BA.

2. Binding arbitration, through ACAS, of all cabin crew disciplinary cases related to the original dispute.

3. The restoration of all earnings docked from crew who were genuinely off sick during strike dates.

4. Full and proper discussion of the trade union facilities agreement at the company with the immediate removal of all threats and sanctions made by BA in relation to this.

5. The introduction of mixed fleet on different terms and conditions without the agreement of the trade union.

Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley said:

"British Airways knows what it must do to end this dispute. Four of the five outstanding issues are no cost issues for the airline and are about treating cabin crew with dignity, respect and ending the climate of persecution. The fifth item is about stopping BA from imposing a near minimum waged workforce and killing their brand.

"Unite is still open to talks but BA must appreciate the strength of feeling across the airline about how badly they've handled this dispute. BA must get serious and work with us to settle the issues before us."