Como leeras, estos cuates quieren hacer lo que alguna vez se hizo en MXA ya hace algunos ayeres, que sacó licencias a todo mundo.
ATW Daily News
BA begins training replacement cabin crew as Unite launches strike ballot
Tuesday January 26, 2010
UK CAA approved British Airways' plan to train pilots and ground staff as cabin crew to be employed in the event of a strike by cabin attendants and will work with the airline and conduct inspections to ensure safety, BA said in its weekly in-house newsletter.
The carrier planned to launch the first of nine training courses yesterday, when the Unite union started balloting its 12,000 BA cabin crew members on industrial action. The vote closes Feb. 22.
Formal negotiations between BA and Unite were abandoned this month and tensions have risen since. "We will not allow Unite to ruin this airline, and we believe we have the support of our customers and the vast majority of our colleagues in that objective," CEO Willie Walsh said, noting that the union's recent proposals to resolve the disputes over staff reductions, pay and working conditions "would actually result in a large increase in costs by reversing the changes to onboard crew numbers made last November."
Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey said that if the carrier "pulls out all the stops between now and February, it is still only going to train 216 strike-breakers. With a cabin crew of 13,500, does BA seriously think this handful of inexperienced individuals will be able to operate a service?" Unite also vowed to write to CAA "to demand full assurances that the haste with which these training programs are proceeding does not mean corners are being cut."
The British Air Line Pilots Assn., which accepted a £26 million ($41.9 million) cost reduction program last year, said it understood Unite's frustration but was "stunned" by the threat of a Christmas strike. BALPA General Secretary Jim McAuslan said that "a number of pilots have responded to BA's call for volunteers to keep the airline operating through any strike and from their postings it is clear that this is out of concern for their own futures and that of other employees." He said the union's position was "neutral" and that it "will not dictate to our members."
The carrier planned to launch the first of nine training courses yesterday, when the Unite union started balloting its 12,000 BA cabin crew members on industrial action. The vote closes Feb. 22.
Formal negotiations between BA and Unite were abandoned this month and tensions have risen since. "We will not allow Unite to ruin this airline, and we believe we have the support of our customers and the vast majority of our colleagues in that objective," CEO Willie Walsh said, noting that the union's recent proposals to resolve the disputes over staff reductions, pay and working conditions "would actually result in a large increase in costs by reversing the changes to onboard crew numbers made last November."
Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey said that if the carrier "pulls out all the stops between now and February, it is still only going to train 216 strike-breakers. With a cabin crew of 13,500, does BA seriously think this handful of inexperienced individuals will be able to operate a service?" Unite also vowed to write to CAA "to demand full assurances that the haste with which these training programs are proceeding does not mean corners are being cut."
The British Air Line Pilots Assn., which accepted a £26 million ($41.9 million) cost reduction program last year, said it understood Unite's frustration but was "stunned" by the threat of a Christmas strike. BALPA General Secretary Jim McAuslan said that "a number of pilots have responded to BA's call for volunteers to keep the airline operating through any strike and from their postings it is clear that this is out of concern for their own futures and that of other employees." He said the union's position was "neutral" and that it "will not dictate to our members."
by Cathy Buyck
