Lord Adonis' one-sided intervention in the British Airways dispute has outraged trade unionists across UNITE and throughout the trade union movement, says Martin Mayer Chair of United Left. “Calling UNITE's decision to strike 'totally unjustified' is not only an insult to thousands of decent hard-working cabin crew who have been treated appallingly by a bullying management, it also puts New Labour four-square behind Britain's new breed of aggressive managers who are attacking trade unions and imposing change without negotiation and agreement” says Mr. Mayer. “Yet again New Labour has backed bully boy management against workers and their trade unions, and shown a total disregard for the very real concerns of working people. No wonder New Labour is languishing in the polls”, says Mr. Mayer.
British Airways cabin crew have been locked in a bitter struggle with millionaire BA boss Willie Walsh for many months over draconian cuts in jobs, pay and conditions. UNITE's BA representatives have sought to negotiate a solution and, in full consultation with their thousands of members, have proposed an alternative package of labour cost savings, which include real reductions in pay and conditions of their members amounting to millions of pounds . The fact that UNITE's proposals have been treated with such utter contempt by BA management is rarely if ever reported in the news.
Faced with a ballot result of over 90% in favour of strike action before Christmas, Willie Walsh thought he could bully his workers into submission by taking UNITE to court. In a legally bizarre judgement, BA won its injunction even though UNITE had correctly balloted all of the workers in the bargaining unit at the time, and declared accurately the number of workers it intended to call out on strike in the run up to Christmas. BA's decision to make several hundred workers redundant in between obviously had no effect on the democratic mandate. Using the courts in this way against workers' basic right to strike, as so often happens, has only hardened UNITE members' determination to stand up for themselves, and sure enough reconfirm their determination to strike in the recent second ballot. “Far from solving the problem, BA management has only prolonged the dispute and its own industrial relations problems, with obvious effects on passenger confidence in British Airways and sluggish ticket sales. Why don't BA's shareholders question Willie Walsh's appalling failure to conduct industrial relations problems within the Company?” asks Mr. Mayer
Recent negotiations between BA and UNITE, brokered by the TUC, appeared to make real progress leading to a negotiated package, which UNITE declared it would put to a vote of its members. However Britain's vicious anti-union laws require UNITE to declare strike action within 28 days of the ballot result or allow the ballot mandate to become null and void. Hence UNITE's decision to call industrial action timed to take place if the consultative ballot on the negotiated proposals is rejected by the membership. “For BA to withdraw the package in protest at the strike dates being called, shows Willie Walsh's total incompetence at dealing with modern industrial relations problems. He has thrown away BA's chance to resolve this dispute by negotiation and agreement” said Mr. Mayer
UNITED LEFT, the broad left shop stewards network in UNITE The Union has activists and union officers right across UNITE's 24 industrial sectors and is spreading the message of solidarity and support to the grass roots about BA's cabin crew dispute. UNITED LEFT's links with rank and file groupings across the trade union movement will also be brought in to play says Mr. Mayer “We will not let our brothers and sisters in BA Cabin Crew down” he said. “Lord Adonis could not be more wrong. This is a totally justified dispute against bullying management who seek to impose change without negotiation, and treat the notion of good industrial relations with contempt and as a sign of weakness. Union activists everywhere will be backing BA workers in this dispute”
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