Manchester: BA cabin crew pay strike

BA picket line 10 January photo Becci Heagney (Click to enlarge)

Becci Heagney, North West Socialist Party regional organiser

A very noisy protest took place outside Manchester Airport's terminal 3 during the BA cabin crew strike on 10 January.

Unite members chanted "low pay, no way" and "pay rise, not lies" while getting support from passengers going in and out of the airport, including one who donated two boxes of chocolates!

The press have been reporting that the workers are on Ł21,000 a year and only interested in "shopping and cocktails". In reality, mixed fleet crew start on Ł12,000 a year and work incredibly long hours. In contrast, BA forecasts to make Ł2.3 billion profit this year.

Members rejected a pay offer of 2% in December. They are demanding a living wage, an increase of around 8%, and a scheduling agreement. Mixed fleet staff work both short and long-haul flights and often don't have breaks in between.

The protest was confident and these workers are up for the fight - Unite has announced another three days of strike action on 19-21 January. We should all give them our full support - say no to poverty pay!

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