BA crew announce another two-week strike

7 July 2017

BA crew members have announced a second round of strikes that will last a further 14 days. The new strikes are set to start shortly after the current 16-day strike, which will end on July 16. 

Unite, the union that represents the striking BA cabin crew, says the strike will start at 00h01 on Wednesday July 19 and continue until 23h59 on Tuesday August 1. 

Oliver Richardson, national officer of Unite, says the strike is part of an ongoing dispute over pay and the sanctioning of striking workers. “We are seeing strong support for the ongoing strike action. The time and money British Airways is spending on wet leasing aircraft and bullying striking cabin crew are resources which could easily settle this dispute. We are seeing strong support for the ongoing strike action.” 

The comments come after BA decided to wet lease nine A320 family aircraft from Qatar Airways, to ensure its operations continued despite the strike. 

BA spokesperson in SA, Stephen Forbes, says despite the current and planned industrial action, the airline will ensure that customers reach their destination. He added that the airline was currently operating 99,5% of its normal schedule.

“Instead of calling further completely unnecessary strikes, Unite should allow its members a vote on the pay deal we reached two months ago,” says Stephen.

As with the current strike, SA flights are not expected to be affected by the upcoming strike.