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To clear backlog , BA made some travel minus baggage: The Asian Age
London, July 26: In a rush to clear the travel backlog British Airways made passengers take off without their luggage.
London, July 26: In a rush to clear the travel backlog British Airways made passengers take off without their luggage.
The airline still had a backlog of 12,000 bags at Heathrow on Thursday night after deciding to focus on getting flights away even if it meant that luggage was left behind.
A BA spokesperson said that a total of 20,000 bags had not been loaded with their owners, but 8,000 had been delivered. Severe delays and cancellations, which continued until Tuesday, meant that flight crews would come close to legal safety limits on working hours. The remaining bags had been been sorted and would be sent on by Friday or Saturday.
Union leaders resumed talks with BA on Thursday night about the introduction of a system of clocking on which prompted last weekends wildcat strike by check-in staff.
But the talks broke up without agreement and the two sides will meet again on Tuesday to continue their negotiations.
Unions claim that the new system would allow the airline to impose annualised hours on 2,500 check-in staff at Heathrow and Gatwick, maximising the efficiency of each worker by sending staff home during quiet periods, but summoning them back to complete their hours when it gets busy.
The dispute widened when BA engineers also issued a threat of industrial action over the new swipe-card system. A meeting of engineers at Heathrow and Gatwick airports decided to issue an ultimatum to the company to hold discussions or face a strike ballot. Leaders of the GMB, T&G and Amicus unions were joined at Thursday nights talks at the conciliation service Acas by GMB shop stewards based at Heathrow.
Sir Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, who left Acas after all-night talks, said he was seeking an urgent meeting with BA chief executive Rod Eddington. With some regret we have not advanced the process much further. We are desperately anxious to avoid a catastrophe for the airline, he said. BA insiders have accused the GMB of fuelling discontent at Heathrow as part of a recruitment drive.
BA said the T&G was the biggest union among Heathrow check-in staff, with 1,500 members compared with the GMBs 300. The GMB and Amicus are balloting members on strike action while the T&G says it will await the outcome of the Acas talks. Ballots will take at least three weeks to organise and the unions will have to give seven days notice of any action, making it possible that any strikes could target the August Bank Holiday weekend. GMB general secretary Kevin Curran said that staff were worried about their work-life balance. Asked what his message was to delayed passengers, he replied: Our members deserve the right to be consulted about their working conditions. Im sure most people travelling would expect the same treatment.
Mr Eddington urged staff to think carefully before causing disruption: We can all learn from events of the past few days.
Bureau Report.
The airline still had a backlog of 12,000 bags at Heathrow on Thursday night after deciding to focus on getting flights away even if it meant that luggage was left behind.
A BA spokesperson said that a total of 20,000 bags had not been loaded with their owners, but 8,000 had been delivered. Severe delays and cancellations, which continued until Tuesday, meant that flight crews would come close to legal safety limits on working hours. The remaining bags had been been sorted and would be sent on by Friday or Saturday.
Union leaders resumed talks with BA on Thursday night about the introduction of a system of clocking on which prompted last weekends wildcat strike by check-in staff.
But the talks broke up without agreement and the two sides will meet again on Tuesday to continue their negotiations.
Unions claim that the new system would allow the airline to impose annualised hours on 2,500 check-in staff at Heathrow and Gatwick, maximising the efficiency of each worker by sending staff home during quiet periods, but summoning them back to complete their hours when it gets busy.
The dispute widened when BA engineers also issued a threat of industrial action over the new swipe-card system. A meeting of engineers at Heathrow and Gatwick airports decided to issue an ultimatum to the company to hold discussions or face a strike ballot. Leaders of the GMB, T&G and Amicus unions were joined at Thursday nights talks at the conciliation service Acas by GMB shop stewards based at Heathrow.
Sir Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, who left Acas after all-night talks, said he was seeking an urgent meeting with BA chief executive Rod Eddington. With some regret we have not advanced the process much further. We are desperately anxious to avoid a catastrophe for the airline, he said. BA insiders have accused the GMB of fuelling discontent at Heathrow as part of a recruitment drive.
BA said the T&G was the biggest union among Heathrow check-in staff, with 1,500 members compared with the GMBs 300. The GMB and Amicus are balloting members on strike action while the T&G says it will await the outcome of the Acas talks. Ballots will take at least three weeks to organise and the unions will have to give seven days notice of any action, making it possible that any strikes could target the August Bank Holiday weekend. GMB general secretary Kevin Curran said that staff were worried about their work-life balance. Asked what his message was to delayed passengers, he replied: Our members deserve the right to be consulted about their working conditions. Im sure most people travelling would expect the same treatment.
Mr Eddington urged staff to think carefully before causing disruption: We can all learn from events of the past few days.
Bureau Report.