British Airways Unnon announces strike

guardian.co.uk, Friday March 12 2010

More than 500,000 BA passengers face strike disruption this month after the Unite trade union announced walkouts over two consecutive weekends, prompting BA to withdraw a last-ditch peace offer. Unite trade union has called a series of strikes over two consecutive weekends this month, beginning with a three-day walkout on 20 March and followed by a four-day action from 27 March.

A brief glimmer of a reprieve for the 525,000 passengers affected by the strike was extinguished this afternoon by the BA chief executive, Willie Walsh, who withdrew a compromise offer after hearing that Unite had set dates for the first cabin crew strike in 13 years. BA said the offer, which includes a partial repeal of staffing cuts, was conditional on Unite not setting strike dates.