Yahoo Finance British Airways tells workers to take pay cuts of up to 60pc
British Airways has asked thousands of workers to take pay cuts and accept new conditions or face losing their jobs.
Employees, who have been placed on consultation, have been told they must accept pay cuts of up to 60pc if they want to continue working for the IAG-owned airline, according to reports.
In many cases, the airline wants staff to agree to include temporary lay-off clauses in their contracts, which would allow BA to suspend staff for up to six weeks a year without pay.
It comes as BA is already planning to slash as many as 12,000 jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic after plunging to its worst ever quarterly loss.
In March, almost all of its employees were placed on furlough. IAG, the firm’s parent company, said that the pandemic and tough quarantine rules around the world will cause long-term changes in the industry.
The previously announced cuts apply to more than a quarter of the airline’s 45,000 workers.
British Airways it was trying to protect as many jobs possible. "The airline industry is facing the deepest structural change in its history, as well as facing a severely weakened global economy," it told ITV News.
"We call on Unite and GMB to consult with us on our proposals as our pilot union, Balpa, is doing. Working together we can protect more jobs as we prepare for a new future.”
The Treasury is under pressure to intervene as workers at companies including BA are put on notice of redundancy despite being furloughed using taxpayer cash, The Telegraph reported on the weekend.
Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chairman of the Transport select committee, said companies should be stopped from doing so or forced to repay funds: “It was always the spirit of the scheme that it was there to help retain staff, not pay for them during their redundancy notice.”
