More British Airways staff at Heathrow Airport will go on strike during the peak holiday season later this summer, following a dispute over pay and accusations of 'fire and rehire' practices.
Shares in BA parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) were up 2% to 116.98p despite the news.
Members of the Unite trade union who work for BA at the London hub have voted in favour of industrial action, joining colleagues who are with the GMB union.
Now, around 700 Heathrow check-in and ground staff are expected to walk out during the summer holidays, with 94% of Unite members voting in favour of strike action and 91% of GMB staff.
A 10% pay reduction implemented during the pandemic had not been reversed for all workers, the unions said, with BA’s “fire and rehire” practices causing outrage.
Workers will decide on a strike date, with the union confirming it would likely be between mid-July and early September.
Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, said: "With grim predictability, holidaymakers face massive disruption thanks to the pig-headedness of British Airways.
“BA has tried to offer our members crumbs from the table in the form of a 10% one-off bonus payment, but this doesn’t cut the mustard.”
Unite said thousands of staff were dismissed and not replaced, which partly caused staff shortages in recent months, leading to many flight cancellations.
A BA spokesperson said the company is "fully committed to talks with our trade unions about their concerns and we hope that together we can find a way to reach an agreement in the best interests of our people and our customers".
Unite said that after two years of job and pay cuts, customers and staff are "paying the price through sky-high ticket prices, rock bottom service levels and non-existent morale", with staff "no longer willing to excuse, or pay the price for, poor management decisions".