Thomas Cook cabin crew are to vote on whether to strike after news 498 jobs are under threat of redundancy.
A consultative ballot on industrial action is due to be held in the next week. It follows a break down in talks between cabin crew union Unite and Thomas Cook Airlines management. Around 1,300 members of the company’s 1,800 cabin crew are members of Unite.
In September, Thomas Cook Airlines announced it was cutting 250 staff and six aircraft from its UK fleet this winter. It began a 90-day consultation on September 6. The company claimed the number of actual redundancies would be “significantly less” than the 498 jobs at risk.
Any industrial action could potentially affect flights out of Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, and Stansted.
Unite said its requests for a ‘realistic’ voluntary severance package in the current economic climate had been refused by management, with no change planned to the current policy of two weeks per year redundancy pay. Unite had requested a minimum of three weeks pay per year, plus a lump sum of £5,000. Cabin crew earn on average £15,000 a year.
Unite regional officer Mick Whitley said: “This has left Unite with no alternative but to suspend the consultation talks and hold a consultative ballot with the Unite membership at Thomas Cook. The ballot will be conducted within the next week to gauge the feeling of our members. We are completely against the redundancy terms and any compulsory redundancies purely to make more profit.”
According to Whitley, the company plans to streamline management roles, with the positions of assistant cabin managers most at risk.
Thomas Cook Airlines said it was disappointed with the union’s decision. A spokesman said: “We’re committed to continuing with our staff and their representatives and whilst we are very disappointed that Unite have taken this approach so early in consultation, we urge them to continue with the process on behalf of their members to look for opportunities to reduce the number of job losses.”