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LONDON - The head of the Transport and General Workers' Union, Tony Woodley, is to face the wrath of British Airways cabin crew furious at the way they believe the union leadership "sold out" in last week's deal to avert a strike.
The general secretary had been due to appear yesterday before a meeting of cabin crew to defend the settlement but that has been delayed for a week in an attempt to allow tempers to cool.
British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association members are angry at what they see as the failure of union negotiators to extract sufficient concessions from the airline's management.
Woodley led the negotiations with BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh, although the deal was accepted only after a vote by the association's committee. The association's website had to be shut down for some time last week because of the level of vitriol directed at union officials and, in particular, chairman Mike Conroy.
The nine-strong association committee voted 6-3 to accept the deal, which included a 4.6 per cent pay rise, a £3000 ($8600) increase in allowances for cabin crew joining the airline after 1997 and changes to sick leave.
The level of unhappiness among cabin crew may be an indicator of further industrial unrest to come. However, Walsh maintains most cabin crew were satisfied with the deal, saying they did not want to see strike action.
- INDEPENDENT
