Last-ditch talks aimed at preventing a strike by some 12,000 British Airways (BA) cabin crew collapsed Friday, leaving thousands of travellers facing chaos within hours. After a bitter public war of words, BA chief executive Willie Walsh and the joint leader of Britain's biggest trade union Unite, Tony Woodley, began face-to-face talks Thursday to try to resolve their differences.
But now three days of strikes look set to start from Saturday, followed by a second walkout from March 27 for four days, causing disruption in the busy Easter holiday period. "It's with great disappointment that I have to tell you all that negotiations have broken down," Woodley told reporters. "The strike goes ahead at midnight tonight (Friday)."
He added of BA: "This company does not want to negotiate, this company wants ultimately to go to war with my members." BA has vowed to keep at least 60 percent of passengers flying during the action, using staff who are not striking, as well as leasing up to 22 planes with pilots and crew from up to eight other European airlines.
"It's deeply regrettable that a proposal that we have tabled to Unite that I believe is fair... has not been accepted," Walsh said outside the London venue of the talks. "BA will be flying tomorrow and will continue to fly throughout these periods of industrial action." Walsh added he had "no concerns" about threatened action from unions in France and Germany in sympathy with Unite.