British Airways cabin crew have rejected cost saving moves by the airline through altered work agreements for staff in its Eurofleet operation
Members of the British Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) were balloted on proposed changes to their terms and conditions.
A total of 98.6% voted to reject the changes with a turnout of more than 85% of the 2,106 members eligible to vote.
The result came as BA parent company International Airline Group lifted its full-year profit forecast.
The cabin crew arm of the Unite union did not say what action it was considering in rejecting BA’s proposals but the ballot was not for industrial action.
BASSA described the negotiated proposal as being fair, but only with associated payments and assurances for the future attached.
“The refusal of British Airways to even consider a balanced approach to cost saving has led to this overwhelming result,” BASSA said.
“This result clearly shows that given the company’s current profitability, the management’s own message surrounding the need for change failed to strike a chord with their own employees and that their message was at best ill received and at worst ill conceived.
“That this ballot was so widely participated in by our members and so one sided in its outcome, shows that people didn’t want to be preached to and continually compared to Easyjet.
“Crew instead wanted to have their voice heard and the ballot result is a message that British Airways leadership should reflect upon.”
The union added: “Our door is always open should BA wish to reconsider their approach and return with a fairer proposal.
“However, this ballot has clearly shown that any future offer must be fair to both sides, to stand any chance of acceptance by our members.”
BA said: “We are disappointed by the ballot outcome, as the need remains to improve our competitiveness against our short-haul rivals.
“We will now take time to assess the result.”