Nordic unions aid BA crew

Trade unions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden have lined up to take action in support of British Airways cabin crew. Five unions – Sweden’s SEKO and Swedish Transport Workers’ Union, Denmark’s 3F and Norway’s Parat and Norwegian Transport Workers’ Union – have given or are considering giving the formal notice of solidarity action required under each of their national laws.

ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said: “BA is a world organisation and conflict within it has world repercussions. Our member unions have watched the failure of negotiations between management and union and they have been unanimous in recognising the risk of a downward spiral across the aviation sector and the potential for damage to the company, its image, passengers and workers that failure represents. We and our members intend to resist what has come to look very much like an attempt to break the union, and resist the drop in standards across the industry – probably starting in Spain after any BA/Iberia tie-up – that it would usher in if allowed to happen.”

Per Östvold, President of the Nordic Transport Workers’ Federation, commented: “These notifications signal our intention to go out and show our support for our colleagues in British Airways. In Norway, Sweden and Denmark we are now planning lawful expressions of solidarity with a workforce that we believe has been starved of consultation, stripped of travel benefits and excluded from consultation about its own future.”

ITF affiliated unions have been vocal in their support for the striking cabin crew. Among the reported actions taken are: Workers from Spain have been attending picket lines at Heathrow Airport, while in Argentina APA members greeted a BA flight with placards in support of striking cabin crew. Although the protestors were removed by airport police, they continued to hand out leaflets to passengers in the airport. Ground handling staff did not unload the baggage for approximately two hours. In Australia theTransport and Workers Union called on their members " to take every possible precaution to make sure the aircraft and task they are performing is safe and in line with our best practice standards”. In Germany Ver.di members distributed leaflets at airports. In The Netherlands FNV Bondgenoten encouraged KLM Royal Dutch Airlines not to take over any work from British Airways during the strike. The company agreed. The BA Hong Kong International Cabin Crew Association adopted a motion to support Bassa's action, by not registering and not allowing any member to register as a volunteer during the strike period. In India, The Aviation Industry Employees' Guild pledged its support to BA workers. The National Union of Seafarers of India has said it will not use BA flights when its members join or leave ships around the world, unless a solution is reached between the union and the company. The Lebanese Cabin Crew Union has agreed that Lebanese cabin crew will not would not respond to any request to break the strike. In Romania Tarom National Technical Trade Union members wore armbands in support of British Airways workers during the strike period. In Thailand members of the TG Union (Aviation), SRUT (Railway Union), BMTA-SWU (Bangkok Bus union), LU-ETA (Expressway Union), TWUT (Transport Workers' Union) and AOT-SWU (Airport Union) welcomed BA Cabin Crew to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on non-strike days, and gave out roses and luggage tags. In Jordan Royal Jordanian workers attempted to meet BA crew.

For more details please see http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/SupportBAcrew.cfm