Why are the British Airways unions snubbing redundancy consultations?
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
In recent weeks we have extensively covered British Airways’ proposal to make 12,000 staff redundant as well as move all remaining cabin crew to a single, lower paying contract. We have also written about BA’s plans to make 239 engineers at its Cardiff maintenance base redundant.
Similar proposals for mass redundancies, changes to working practices and pay cuts for those who remain have been submitted for all other areas of the company including head office staff.
None of these proposals are yet final. In line with legal requirements, each is subject to a 45 day consultation period with the relevant unions.
There had been rumours that almost all of the unions have refused to engage with these consultations. A letter from British Airways CEO Alex Cruz leaked to the Financial Times on Monday confirms this.
In the letter, Cruz acknowledges that productive conversations have occurred with BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, but that GMB and Unite have so far failed to attend any meetings:
“Consultation is so important, and productive conversations are already being held with BALPA. I am sorry that neither Unite nor GMB have attended any of the daily meetings they are invited to so that they can provide ideas and input into any of the other proposed changes, and maximise the number of jobs saved.”
In the same letter Cruz acknowledges that the UK’s 14 day quarantine will delay any pick-up in activity, stating that it “deals another blow to our chances of starting the recovery phase”.
Unite has said it will launch a public campaign against British Airways management. Instead of joining the consultation, it is relying on the argument that ‘meaningful consultations’ cannot occur when a large portion of the workforce is furloughed and legally unable to work. A furloughed employee loses their right to furlough pay if they do so much as send or reply to email via their work address.
In a letter to the British Airways board, Unite has called for British Airways to remove the redundancy threat to give “time and space” to “real discussions”.
The letter adds:
“If this is really all about the Covid-19 crisis, why have you refused to suggest or accept any temporary measures with joint reviews, so that terms and conditions would be returned as revenue climbs? In truth, you have imposed this without any intention of negotiating.”
Unite and GMB are taking a gamble, especially as they do not appear to be seeking a legal ruling on whether consultation can take place whilst employees are furloughed. We are now halfway through the 45 day consultation period and yet no discussions have taken place.
It appears that British Airways, by attempting to open a consultation period, has met its legal obligations. It will be able to dismiss its entire workforce on 15th June if it wishes, offering new contracts to those it wishes to invite back. There is a risk that Unite and GMB will fail to achieve the best possible result for their members (which, of course, will not be great but potentially better than the current offer) by focusing instead on a public campaign against the airline.
British Airways is, of course, far from the only airline to announce permanent lay-offs, although it is the only one looking to cut the pay and conditions of all staff. Virgin Atlantic is seeking over 3,000 redundancies, or a third of its workforce, whilst Lufthansa sees at least 10,000 excess jobs over the next few years. Finnair has announced it may cut up to 1,200 jobs whilst SAS has announced it will be cutting 40% of its workforce.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
Briand 
Cheshire HR 
Mike P 
Lady London 
BA Betrayal 
J 
SamG
Nick
Geoff 1977
blenz101
Comments (152)