Events | 2010.02.20
BA cabin crew lose high court battle
Airline says it is delighted after high court judge rules that changes to staffing levels are "less than extreme"
British Airways cabin crew today lost their high court bid for a permanent injunction preventing the airline from imposing cost-cutting proposals.
BA bosses argued they were entitled unilaterally to reduce cabin crew complements on board worldwide and European flights as these are not terms of individual cabin crew members\' contracts.
But the union Unite said the airline was in breach of contract by imposing the changes as the existing crew complements were fixed by collective agreements with the unions and were "expressly incorporated" into individual contracts.
Unite had agreed "unwillingly" to work the new schedules pending today\'s ruling by Sir Christopher Holland at London\'s high court on 10 test cases – representative of about 5,400 claimants who are among 13,400 cabin crew employed by BA.
It is reballoting its 12,000 cabin crew members at BA for industrial action, with a result due on Monday.
Its counsel, John Hendy QC, has said the changes would "materially and detrimentally affect the health and wellbeing of staff and passengers on board the flights".
BA has maintained that, while there would be a modest increase in work output for cabin crew, there was no safety or security risk whatsoever and the granting of an injunction would be a "commercial catastrophe" in the face of global recession and rising fuel prices.
It said the new crewing levels had merely brought BA into line with what its competitors were already providing and what the airline had introduced - with the union\'s agreement - at Gatwick airport.
BA said it was "extremely pleased" with today\'s ruling.
"Unite\'s central demand over the last three months has been that we reverse these changes, despite the severe financial impact this would have on the company at a time when we are facing a second year of record annual losses," the airline said.
In his written judgment, Holland said he did not think it was "apt" to regard the collective agreement relating to crew complements for inclusion in individual contracts.
"What I am reading is what it is: a negotiated fleet collective agreement apt to cover planning for and deployment of 11,500 employees; it is not the stuff of 11,500 individual contracts."
He said he accepted evidence from the union that the changes could put a strain on staff and make it difficult for them to deliver a satisfactory service.
He also accepted that, should there be an emergency during a flight, the cabin crew could be left shorthanded. However, crew complements remained significantly above the Federal Aviation Authority minimum.
Holland said the changes were "less than extreme" and were not unreasonable, given the company\'s financial situation.
He added that the impact upon cabin crew could only be resolved through negotiation that "balances the demands upon the employee with the unavoidable realities of the current pressures upon management".
He granted permission to appeal.
In December the high court ruled that Unite\'s plans to strike for 12 days over the Christmas period were unlawful as it had sent ballot papers to employees who were taking voluntary redundancy and would have left BA by the time action took place.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/19/ba-cabin-crew-injunction-cuts
