Hundreds of British Airways workers at Heathrow Airport have voted to strike during the school summer holidays over a pay row.
The GMB trade union balloted its BA members working at the west London airport on Thursday morning, with 95 per cent of them voting for strike action this summer.
The union warned of “massive disruption” to travel over the coming months.
A separate vote of BA workers at Heathrow who are members of the Unite union is under way, with results expected on Monday.
The dispute over pay could lead to a walkout by 700 check-in and ground handling staff at the UK’s busiest airport.
The airline's refusal to reverse a 10 per cent pay cut imposed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic is at the centre of the row, the unions said. BA said it has offered a 10 per cent one-off bonus to employees but refused to give in to demands for a return to pre-Covid pay.
BA has been struggling to recruit staff quickly enough to cope with an increasing demand for travel since Covid restrictions have been eased. The airline has been widely criticised for cutting 10,000 jobs during the pandemic.
The announcement of strikes among BA staff comes during the largest rail strikes in Britain in more than 30 years. About 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' (RMT) Union are on their second of three days of industrial action.
The RMT is embroiled in a bitter dispute with the government over pay, jobs and conditions. Talks are continuing but union bosses have warned of further strikes if an agreement is not reached, giving rise to fears of a summer of travel chaos in Britain.
BA urged to 'save the summer holidays'
Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, hit out at BA’s offer of “crumbs from the table” and questioned how the airline could have thought its proposal would be accepted by employees.
"With grim predictability, holidaymakers face massive disruption thanks to the pigheadedness of British Airways," she said.
“BA have tried to offer our members crumbs from the table in the form of a 10 per cent one-off bonus payment, but this doesn’t cut the mustard. Our members need to be reinstated the 10 per cent they had stolen from them last year with full back pay and the 10 per cent bonus which other colleagues have been paid.
“GMB members at Heathrow have suffered untold abuse as they deal with the travel chaos caused by staff shortages and IT failures.
“At the same time, they’ve had their pay slashed during BA’s callous fire-and-rehire policy.
“What did BA think was going to happen?"
Urging the airline to reconsider, Ms Houghton said "it’s not too late to save the summer holidays" and pointed out that BA employees in other locations have had their pay cuts reversed. If the airline adopted the same policy for their Heathrow-based staff, the industrial action would be called off, she said.
Another union official, Russ Ball of Unite, said BA had only itself to blame.
"The problems BA is facing are entirely of its own making," he said. "It brutally cut jobs and pay during the pandemic, even though the government was paying them to save jobs."
BA voices disappointment
A BA representative called the strikes "extremely disappointing" and said the company was committed to finding a solution.
"We’re extremely disappointed with the result and that the unions have chosen to take this course of action," the representative said. "Despite the extremely challenging environment and losses of more than £4 billion [$4.9bn], we made an offer of a 10 per cent payment that was accepted by the majority of other colleagues.
"We are fully committed to work together to find a solution, because to deliver for our customers and rebuild our business we have to work as a team. We will of course keep our customers updated about what this means for them as the situation evolves."
A representative for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged both sides to reach an agreement.
"We don't want to see any further disruption for passengers and strike action would only add to the misery being faced by passengers at airports.
"We expect BA to put in place contingency measures to ensure that as little disruption [as possible] is caused and that where there is disruption that passengers can be refunded."
The strikes are the latest problem to blight the UK flag carrier. In March, BA passengers were stranded at Heathrow after an IT glitch forced the airline to cancel and postpone flights. And this month, a panel of British politicians was told by Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer watchdog Which, that the airline had presided over a "blatant flouting" of its obligations to passengers.
British Airways through the years - in pictures
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
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GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
