Travel And Holiday News

BA cabin crew workers union Unite announced an "overwhelming vote for strike action" on Monday 22 February after 7,482 crew members voted in favour in a ballot following disputes over pay and working conditions.

The announcement is the latest blow to British Airways which narrowly avoided a strike by cabin staff over Christmas and New Year – one of the busiest periods in the snowsports calendar.

Unite has announced that it will not carry out a strike over Easter, an equllat popular time of year for skiers and snowboarders travelling to ski resorts, however a strike could take place as soon as early March if it went ahead.

By law the union must give BA a week’s notice if it plans to strike, however in a statement Unite said that it was "not announcing dates for industrial action at this stage" and that the "only way forward" was "if all parties can negotiate a solution", lending hope to a situation that has beleaguered the UK’s flagship carrier since last year.

In its own statement at www.britishairways.com the airline echoed Unite’s desire to negotiate saying it believed progress had been made in recent talks involving the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and that it reiterated its "wish to resolve the issues" with Unite in the interest of airline customers and staff.

British Airways also appeared to assert however that it would not be pushed over easily; "we will not allow Unite to ruin this company" the airline confirmed before going on to reassure passengers that contingency plans would be put in place if a strike action went ahead.

To read the full statement from Unite, visit www.unitetheunion.com. More information about BA’s travel contingency plans for passengers can be found at www.britishairways.com.